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AVIvRY  ARCHH  liCTURAL  AND  FlNi:  ARTS  LIBRARY 
(ill  I oi  Si  YMouR  B.  DiiRsiOi  I)  York  Library 


API 


Citvof  New  York  frorii  an  acflual  Survey 

,  i^ade  by  lames  Ivy  n» 


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^^  CENTE:;, 


^        HISTORY 


OP 


NEW  YORK  CITY, 


FROM  THE 


imvtt^  t0  ih  ^mmt  J«g, 


By    WILLIAM     L.    STONE 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  <<  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  JOHJVSON,  BART."; 

"  LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  COL.  WM.  L.  STONE," 

Etc.,  Etc.,  Etc. 


PUBLISHED    BY 

R 

.    D. 

COOKE 

) 

NEW 

CHURCH  STREET,  NEW 

YORK 

1876. 

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Oi^ 


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^ 


HISTORY 


NEW  YORK  CITY 


The  history  or  new  tork  naturally  di\ides  itself  into  three  periods  of  time:  —  First '- 

FROM  ITS  SETTLEMENT  BY  THE  DUTCH  TO  ITS  PERMANENT  OCCUPANCY  BY  THE  ENGLISH  ;  Second 
—  FROM  THE  ENCxLISH  CONQUEST  TO  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR;  AND,  Third —  FROM 
ITS   EVACUATION  BY  THE  BRITISH  DOWN  TO  THE  PRESENT  DAY. 


FIEST     PEKIOD. 

1598-1674. 

The  settlement  of  New  York  Island  by  the  Dutch,  and  its  permanent  occupancy 

by  the  English. 

It  is  the  general  belief  that  the  first  landing  made  on  New  York 
Island,  or  the  "Island  of  Manhattan,"  as  it  was  then  called,  was  by  Hendrick 
Hudson,  in  1609.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case ;  since  the  earliest  records 
extant  state  that  as  early  as  1598,  a  few  Hollanders,  in  the  employ  of  a 
Greenland  Company,  were  in  the  habit  of  resorting  to  New  Netherlands 
(i.  e.  New  York),  not,  it  is  true,  with  a  design  of  effecting  a  settlement, 
but  merely  to  secure  a  shelter  during  the  winter  months.  With  this  view 
they  built  two  small  forts,  to  protect  themselves  against  the  Indians. 
Nevertheless,  the  fact  remains  undisputed,  that  to  Hudson  belongs  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  one  who  directed  public  attention  to  the  Island 
of  Manhattan  as  an  advantageous  point  for  a  trading  port  in  the  New 
World. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1609,  the  great  navigator  sailed  out  of  the  har- 
bor of  Amsterdam,  and  "by  twelve  of  ye  clocke"  of  the  6th  he  was  two 
leagues  off  the  land.  He  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company,  who  had  commissioned  him  to  seek  a  passage  to  the  East  Indies 
by  the  north  side  of  Nova  Zembla.  Having,  however,  found  the  sea  at 
that  part  full  of  ice,  he  turned  the  prow  of  his  little  vessel,  the  Half- 
31oon,  westward,  and,  after  a  month's  cruise,  reached  the  great  Bank  of 
Newfoundland,  on  the  2d  of  July.  Thence  he  sailed  southward  to  the 
James  Hiver,  Virginia,  and  again  altering  his  course — still  in  pursuit  of  a 


6 

new  channel  to  India — he  coasted  along  the  shores  of  New  Jersey,  and  on 
the  2d  of  September,  1609,  cast  anchor  inside  of  Sandy  Hook. 

The  topography  of  New  York  Island,  as  it  was  first  seen  by  Hudson, 
was  as  follows  : 

''  The  lower  j^art  of  it  consisted  of  wood-crowned  hills  and  beautiful 
grassy  valleys,  including  a  chain  of  swamps  and  marshes  and  a  deep 
pond.  Northward,  it  rose  into  a  rocky,  high  ground.  The  sole  inhabit- 
ants were  a  tribe  of  dusky  Indians, — an  off-shoot  from  the  great  nation 
of  the  Lenni  Lenape,  who  inhabited  the  vast  territory  bounded  by  the 
Penobscot  and  Potomac,  the  Atlantic  and  Mississippi, — 'dwelUng  in  the 
clusters  of  rude  wigwams  that  dotted  here  and  there  the  surface  of  the 
country.  The  rivers  that  gird  the  Island  were  as  yet  unstirred  by  the 
keels  of  ships,  and  the  bark  canoes  of  the  native  Manhattans  held  sole 
possession  of  the  peaceful  waters. 

''  The  face  of  the  country,  more  particularly  described,  was  gently 
undulating,  presenting  every  variety  of  hill  and  dale,  of  brook  and  rivulet. 
The  upper  part  of  the  Island  was  rocky,  and  covered  by  a  dense  forest ; 
the  lower  part  grassy,  and  rich  in  wild  fruit  and  flowers.  Grapes  and 
strawberries  grew  in  abundance  in  the  fields,  and  nuts  of  various  kinds 
were  plentiful  in  the  forests,  which  were  also  filled  with  abundance  of  game. 
The  brooks  and  ponds  were  swarming  with  fish,  and  the  soil  was  of  lux- 
uriant fertility.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  present  "Tombs"  was  a  deep, 
clear,  and  beautiful  pond  of  fresh  water  (with  a  picturesque  little  island  in 
the  middle) — so  deep,  indeed,  that  it  could  have  floated  the  largest  ship  in 
our  navy, — which  was  for  a  long  time  deemed  bottomless  by  its  possessors. 
This  was  fed  by  large  springs  at  the  bottom,  which  kept  its  waters  fresh 
and  flowing,  and  had  its  outlet  in  a  little  stream  which  flowed  into  the 
East  Eiver,  near  the  foot  of  James  street.  Smaller  ponds  dotted  the 
Island  in  various  places,  two  of  which,  lying  near  each  other,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  present  corner  of  the  Bowery  and  Grand  street,  collected  the  waters 
of  the  high  grounds  which  surrounded  them.  To  the  northwest  of  the 
Fresh  Water  Pond,  or  "Kolck,"  as  it  afterwards  came  tobe  called,  beginning 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  St.  John's  Park,  and  extending  to  the  north- 
ward over  an  area  of  some  seventy  acres,  lay  an  immense  marsh,  filled 
with  reeds  and  brambles,  and  tenanted  with  frogs  and  water-snakes.  A 
little  rivulet  connected  this  marsh  with  the  Fresh  Water  Pond,  which 
was  also  connected,  by  tlio  stream  which  formed  its  outlet,  with  another 
strip  of  marshy  land,  covering  the  region  now  occupied  by  James,  Cherry, 
and  the  adjacent  streets.  An  unbroken  cliain  of  waters  was  thus  stretched 
across  the  Island  from  James  street  at  the  soutlieast  to  Canal  street  at  the 
northwest.  An  inlet  occupied  the  place  of  Broad  street,  a  marsh  covered 
the  vicinity  of  Ferry  street,  Rutgers  street  formed  the  center  of  another 
marsh,  and  a  long  line  of  meadows  and  swam])y  ground  stretched  to  tho 
northward  along  tlie  eastern  shore. 


"  The  highest  line  of  lands  lay  along  Broadway,  from  the  Battery  to 
to  the  northernmost  part  of  the  Island,  forming  its  backbone,  and  slop- 
ing gradually  to  the  east  and  west.  On  the  corner  of  Grand  street  and 
Broadway  was  a  high  hill,  commanding  a  view  of  the  whole  Island,  and 
falling  off  gradually  to  the  Fresh  Water  Pond.  To  the  south  and  west, 
the  country,  in  the  intervals  of  the  marshes,  was  of  great  beauty — roll- 
ing, grassy,  fertile,  and  well  watered.  A  high  range  of  sand  hills  traversed 
a  part  of  the  Island,  from  Yarick  and  Charlton  to  Eighth  and  Greene 
streets.  To  the  north  of  these  lay  a  valley,  through  which  ran  a  brook, 
which  formed  the  outlet  of  the  springy  marshes  at  Washington  Square, 
and  emptied  into  the  North  Eiver  at  the  foot  of  Hammersly  street."  * 

Meanwhile,  Hudson,  having  explored  the  river  that  bears  his  name 
as  far  as  the  present  City  of  Albany,  set  sail  on  the  4th  of  October  for 
Europe,  bearing  the  news  of  the  discovery  of  a  new  country — the  opening 
for  a  new  commerce  ;  for  although  his  patrons  were  disappointed  in  finding 
a  short  road  to  the  land  of  silks,  teas,  and  spices,  still,  his  great  discovery 
was  destined  to  open  in  future  time  mines  of  wealth,  more  valuable  than 
all  the  imagined  riches  of  the  Celestial  Empire. 

At  that  p3rio;l,  Holland  carried  on  a  lucrative  trade  with  the  East 
Indies  and  Eussia.  Every  year  they  dispatched  nearly  one  hundred  ships 
to  Archangel  for  furs  ;  but  Hudson's  glowing  accounts  of  the  rich  peltry 
ho  had  seen  in  the  newly  discovered  regions  soon  turned  the  attention  of 
the  busy  Dutch  to  a  country  where  these  articles  could  be  purchased  with- 
out the  taxes  of  custom-houses  and  other  duties.  Accordingly,  in  the 
year  1610,  a  few  merchants  dispatched  another  vessel,  under  the  com- 
mand of  the  Il'i^f-Moon^s  former  mate,  to  trafiic  in  furs  with  the  Indians. 
This  venture  met  with  such  success,  that  two  years  after,  in  1612,  the 
Fortune  and  the  Tiger,  commanded,  respectively,  by  Hendrick  Christiaen- 
son  and  Adrien  Block,  sailed  on  a  trading  voyage  to  the  '"Mauritius  Eiver," 
as  the  Hudson  was  first  named.  The  following  year,  also,  three  more 
vessels,  commanded  by  Captains  Da  Witt,  Volckertsen,  and  Wey,  sailed 
from  Amsterdam  and*  Hoven  on  a  similar  adventure.  These  were  the 
beginnings  of  the  important  fur  trade,  which  was,  ere  long,  to  be  a 
chief  source  of  wealth  to  Holland  and  America.  It  was  now  deter- 
mined to  open  a  regular  communication  with  the  newly-discovered  region, 
and  to  make  the  Island  of  Manhattan  the  depjt  of  the  fur  trade  in 
America.  It  was  also  resolved  to  establish  permanent  agents  here  for  the 
purchase  and  collection  of  skins,  while  the  vessels  were  on  their  voyages 
to  and  from  Holland.  Captain  Hendrick  Christiaensen  became  the  first 
agent,  and  built  a  redoubt,  with  four  small  houses,  on  ground  which,  it  is 
said,  is  now  the  site  of  No.  39  Broadway. 

A  little   navy  was  commenced  about  the  same  period,  by  Captain 

*  Miss  M,  L.  Booth's  Hihtorv  of  New  York. 


p 


Adrien  Block,  one  of  the  vessels  of  which  was  accidentally  burned,  just  on 
the  eve  of  his  departure  for  Holland.  Having  abundant  materials, 
however,  in  the  Island  of  Manhattan,  he  finished  another ;  and  in  the 
spring  of  1614,  launched  the  first  vessel  ever  built  in  New  Amsterdam. 
She  was  named  the  Eesfkss,  a  yacht  of  sixteen  tons — a  name  prophetic  of 
the  ever-busy  and  future  great  city.  The  entire  winter  passed  in  build- 
ing the  vessel,  the  Indians  kindly  supplying  the  strangers  with  food. 
Such  were  the  earliest  movements  of  commerce  in  New  Netherlands  two 
centuries  and  a  half  ago ! 

A  few  months  before  Captain  Block's  return  to  Holland,  the  States- 
General  of  the  Netherlands,  with  a  view  of  encouraging  emigration, 
passed  an  ordinance  granting  the  discoverers  of  new  countries  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  trading  at  Manhattan  during  four  voyages.  Accordingly, 
the  merchants  who  had  sent  out  the  first  expedition  had  a  map  made  of 
all  the  country  between  Canada  and  Virginia,  as  the  whole  new  region 
was  called,  and,  claiming  to  be  the  original  discoverers,  petitioned  the 
Government  for  the  promised  monopoly.  Their  petition  was  granted  ; 
and  on  the  11th  of  October,  1614,  they  ol>tained  a  charter  for  the  exclusive 
right  of  trade  on  the  territory  within  the  40th  and  45th  degrees  of  north 
latitude.  The  charter  also  forbade  all  other  persons  to  interfere  with 
this  monopoly,  in  the  penalty  of  confiscating  both,  vessels  and  cargoes, 
with  a  fine  also  of  50,000  Dutch  ducats  for  the  benefit  of  the  charter's 
grantees.  Tlie  new  province  first  formally  received  the  name  of  New 
Netherland  in  this  document ;  and  Dutch  merchants,  associating  themselves 
under  the  name  of  the  "  United  New  Netherland  Company,"  straightway 
prepared  to  conduct  their  operations  on  a  more  extensive  scale.  Trading 
parties  to  the  interior  hastened  to  collect  furs  from  the  Indians,  and 
deposit  them  at  Forts  Nassau  (Albany)  and  Manhattan.  Jacob  Eelkins, 
a  shrewd  trader,  received  the  appointment  of  agent  at  the  former  place, 
where  the  first  one.  Captain  Christiaensen,  had  been  murdered  by  an 
Indian.     This  was  the  first  murder  ever  recorded  in  the  new  province. 

In  the  year  1617,  a  formal  treaty  of  peace  and  alliance  was  concluded 
between  the  Dutch  and  the  powerful  nation  of  the  Iroquois.  The  pipe 
of  peace  was  smoked,  and  the  hatches  buried  in  the  earth,  on  the  present 
site  of  Albany.  This  treaty,  as  may  readily  be  imagined,  greatly  increased 
the  prosperity  of  the  Dutch  traders,  who  had  hitherto  occupied  Manhat- 
tan merely  by  the  sufferance  of  the  Indians.  Their  agents  accordingly 
at  once  extended  their  trips  further  into  the  interior,  obtaining  on  each 
trip  valuable  furs  in  exchange  for  the  muskets  and  ammunition  so  much 
coveted  by  the  natives.  This  trade  became  so  profitable,  that  when  the 
charter  of  the  United  New  Notiierland  Company  expired,  in  1618,  they 
petitioned  for  a  renewal,  but  failing  to  obtain  it,  they  continued  their  trade 
two  or  three  years  longer,  under  a  special  license. 

XJp  to  this  period,  the  IlQllander!?  liad  considered  Manhattan  as  a 


trading  post  only,  and  dwelt  in  mere  temporary  huts  of  rude  construction. 
But  the  British  now  explored  the  American  coast,  claiming  the  whole 
region  between  Canada  and  Virginia,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
Oceans ;  and  the  Dutch,  consequently,  began  to  reaUze  the  importance  of 
securing  their  American  possessions  in  the  new  province.  The  English 
Puritans,  hearing  glowing  accounts  of  New"  Netherland,  requested  per- 
mission to  emigrate  there  with  their  families.  But  the  States- General, 
having  other  plans  in  view,  declined  the  prayers  of  the  Puritans.  They 
thought  it  better  policy  to  supply  the  new^  province  with  their  own  country- 
men, and  on  the  3d  of  June,  1621,  granted  a  charter  to  the  West  India 
Company  for  twenty  years,  which  conferred  upon  them  the  exclusive 
jurisdiction  over  New  Netherland.  It  may  well  be  questioned  whether  the 
States-General  acted  wisely  in  the  course  thus  pursued.  Had  it  filled  the 
land,  as  the  English  were  doing,  with  crowds  of  hardy,  moral  emigrants  and 
pioneers — farmers,  with  their  cattle  and  husbandry — the  Dutch  settlements 
would  have  advanced  with  far  greater  rapidity.  Be  this,  however,  as  it 
may,  the  West  India  Company  no  sooner  became  possessed  of  the  charter, 
than  it  at  once  became  a  power  in  the  new  country.  Ha\ing  the  exclusive 
right  of  trade  and  commerce  in  the  Atlantic,  from  the  Tropic  of  Cancer  to 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  upon  the  eastern  continent,  and  from  Newfound- 
land to  Magellan  Straits,  on  the  western,  their  influence  over  this  im- 
mense territory  was  almost  boundless  in  making  contracts  with  the  Indians, 
building  forts,  administering  justice,  and  appointing  public  officers.  In 
return,  the  chartered  Company  pledged  itself  to  colonize  the  new  territory. 
The  government  of  tliis  association  was  vested  in  five  separate  chambers 
or  boards  of  management,  in  five  principal  Dutch  cities  :  Amsterdam, 
Middleburg,  Dordrecht,  one  in  North  Holland,  and  one  in  Friesland. 
The  details  of  its  management  were  intrusted  to  an  executive  board  of 
nineteen,  commonly  called  the  Assemlly  of  Nineteen.  The  States-General 
further  promised,  on  its- part,  to  give  the  Company  a  million  of  guilders, 
and  in  case  of  war,  to  supply  ships  and  men.  Meanwhile,  the  Puritans, 
not  disheartened,  readied  Plymouth  Pock,  and  thus  conveyed  their  faith 
and  traffic  to  the  shores  of  New  England,  where  they  continue  to  this  day. 

The  West  India  Company  now  began  to  colonize  the  new  province 
with  fresh  zeal.  The  Amsterdam  Chamber,  in  1623,  fitted  out  a  ship  of 
250  tons,  the  New  Netherland,  in  which  thirty  families  embarked  for  the 
distant  territory  whose  name  she  bore.  Captain  Wey  commanded  the 
expedition,  having  been  appointed  the  first  Director  of  the  province. 
Most  of  these  colonists  were  Walloons^  or  French  Protestants,  from  the 
borders  of  France  and  Belgium,  and  sought  a  home  from  rehgious  perse- 
cutions in  their  own  land. 

AVith  the  arrival  of  the  New  Netherlands  a  new  era  in  the   domestic 
history  of  the  settlement  began.     Soon  saw-mills  supplied  the  necessary 
timber  for  comfortable  dwellings,  in  the  place  of  the  bark-huts  built  after 
1\ 


15 

the  Indian  fashion.  The  new  buildings  were  generally  one-story  high, 
with  two  rooms  on  a  floor,  and  a  thatched  roof  garret.  From  the  want 
of  brick  and  mortar,  the  chimneys  were  constructed  of  wood.  The  inte- 
rior was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  very  scantily  supplied  with  furniture — the 
great  chest  from  Fatherland^  with  its  prized  household  goods,  being  the 
most  imposing  article.  Tables  were  generally  the  heads  of  barrels 
placed  on  end ;  rough  shelves  constituted  the  cupboard,  and  chairs  were 
logs  of  wood  rough-hewn  from  the  forest.  To  complete  the  furniture,  there 
was  the  Avell  known  "  Sloap  Band'''  or  sleeping-bench — the  bedstead — 
where  lay  the  boast,  the  pride,  the  comfort  of  a  Dutch  housekeeper,  the 
feather-bed.  Around  the  present  Battery  and  Coenties  Slip  and  the 
Bowling  Green  were  the  houses,  a  few  of  which  were  surrounded  by  gar- 
dens. The  fruit-trees  often  excited  the  thievish  propensities  of  the 
natives,  and  one  devastating  war  followed  the  shooting  of  an  Indian  girl 
while  stealing  peaclies  from  an  orchard  on  Broadway,  near  the  present 
Bowling  Green.  Meanwhile,  commerce  kept  pace  with  the  new  houses, 
and  the  staunch  ship,  the  Xeiv  JTetherland,  returned  to  Holland  with  a 
cargo  of  furs  valued  at  $12,000. 

Anxious  to  fulfill  its  part  of  the  agreement,  the  West  India  Company, 
in  1625.  also  sent  out  to  Manhattan  three  ships  and  a  yacht,  containing 
a  number  of  families,  armed  with  farming  implements,  and  103  head  of 
cattle.  Fearing  the  cattle  might  be  lost  in  the  surrounding  forests,  the 
settlers  landed  them  on  Nutten's  (Governor's)  Island,  but  afterward  con- 
veyed them  to  Manhattan.  Two  more  vessels  shortly  after  arrived  from 
Holland,  and  the  settlement  soon  numbered  some  200  persons,  and  gave 
promise  of  permanency. 

In  the  year  1G24,  Wey,  returning  to  Holland,  William  Yerhulst  suc- 
ceeded him  in  the  Directorship.  The  latter,  however,  did  not  long  enjOy 
the  emoluments  of  oftice,  for  at  the  end  of  a  year  he  also  was  recalled, 
and  Peter  jSIinuit  appointed,  in  his  place,  Director-General  of  NewNether- 
land,  with  full  power  to  organize  a  provisional  government.  He  arrived 
May  4,  1626,  in  the  ship  Seamen,  Adrian  Jovis,  captain.  The  first  seal 
was  now  granted  to  the  province,  having  for  a  crest,  a  beaver,  than  which, 
for  a  coat  of  arms,  nothing  could  have  been  more  appropriate.  It  was 
fitting  that  the  earliest  Hollanders  of  the  "Empire  City"  should  thus 
lionor  the  animal  that  was  so  fast  enriching  them  in  their  newly-adopted 
home. 

To  the  credit  of  Director  Minuit,  be  it  said,  the  very  first  act  of  his 
administration  was  to  purchase  in  an  open  and  honorable  manner  the  Island 
of  ^Fanhattan  from  the  Indians  for  sixty  guilders,  or  twenty-four  dollars. 
The  Island  itself  was  estimated  to  contain  22,000  acres.  The  price  paid,  it  is 
true,  was  a  mere  trifle,  but  the  purchase  itself  was  lawful  and  satisfactory 
to  the  aboriginal  owners — a  fact  which  caniiot  be  truly  said  in  regard  to 
other  regions  taken  from  the  Indians. 


11 

To  assist  him  in  carrying  out  his  instructions,  the  Director  was  fur- 
nished with  an  Executive  Council.  The  latter  body  was,  in  turn,  assisted 
by  the  Koopmcm.  who  acted  as  Secretary  to  the  province  and  book-keeper 
of  the  public  warehouse.  Last  of  all,  came  the  Schout- Fiscal^  a  civil  facto- 
tum, half  sheriff  and  attorney-general,  executive  officer  of  the  Council, 
and  general  custom-house  official.  Thus  early  had  the  Dutch  an  eye 
to  the  "  main  chance,"  the  export  of  furs  that  year  (1626)  amounting  to 
$19,000,  and  giving  j)romise  of  a  constant  increase. 

Some  thirty  rudely-constructed  log-houses  now  extended  along  the 
shores  of  the  East  Biver,  and  these,  with  a  block-house,  a  horse-mill,  and 
a  ''  Company's"  thatched  stone  building,  constituted  the  settlement  two 
hundred  and  forty-two  years  since  of  the  present  City  of  New  York. 
Clergyman  or  schoolmaster  was  as  yet  unknown  in  the  infant  colony. 
Every  settler  had  his  own  cabin  and  cows,  tilled  his  land,  or  traded  with 
the  Indians — all  were  busy,  like  their  own  emblem,  the  beaver. 

In  the  year  1629,  the  "  Charter  of  Privileges  and  Exemptions"  was 
granted  in  Holland,  OiW^  patroom  were  allowed  to  settle  in  the  new  colony. 
This  important  document  transferred  to  the  free  soil  of  America  the  old 
feudal  tenure  and  burdens  of  Continental  Europe.  The  proposed  Fairoon- 
eries  were  only  transcripts  of  the  Seigneur ies  and  Lordships  so  common  at 
that  period,  and  which  the  Erench  were,  at  the  same  time,  estabhshing  in 
Canada.  In  that  province,  even  at  the  present  day,  the  feudal  append- 
ages of  jurisdiction,  preemption  rights,  monopolies  of  mines,  minerals^ 
and  waters,  with  hunting,  fishing,  and  fowling,  form  a  part  of  the  civil  law. 
Pursuing,  however,  a  more  liberal  policy,  the  grantees  of  the  charter  to 
the  New  Netherland  patroom  secured  the  Indian's  right  to  his  native 
soil,  at  the  same  time  enjoining  schools  and  churches. 

Meanwhile,  the  settlement  in  New  Netherland  continued  to  prosper, 
and  soon  became  the  principal  depot  for  the  fur  and  coasting  trade  of  the 
patroons.  The  latter  were  obliged  to  land  all  their  cargoes  at  Port 
Amsterdam ;  and  in  the  years  1629-30,  the  imports  from  old  Amsterdam 
amounted  to  113,000  guilders,  and  the  exports  from  Manhattan  exceeded 
130,000.  The  Company  reserved  the  exclusive  right  to  the  fur  trade,,  and 
imposed  a  duty  of  five  per  cent,  on  all  the  trade  of  the  patroons. 

The  inhabitants,  in  order  not  to  be  idle,  turned  their  attention,  with 
fresh  zeal,  to  ship-building,  and  with  so  much  success,  that  as  early  as  1631, 
New  Amsterdam  had  become  the  metropolis  of  the  New  World.  The 
Xew  Xetherland,  a  ship  of  800  tons,  was  built  at  Manhattan,  and  dispatched 
to  Holland — an  important  event  of  the  times,  since  the  vessel  was  one  of 
the  largest  merchantmen  of  the  world.  It  was  a  very  costly  experiment, 
however,  and  was  not  soon  repeated.  Emigrants  from  all  nations  now 
began  to  flock  into  the  new  colony.  They  were  princij)ally  induced  to. 
come  by  the  hberal  ofi'ers  of  the  Dutch  Company,  who  transported  them 
in  its  own  vessels  at  the  cheap  rate  of  twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  diem  for 


12 

passage  and  stores  ;  giving  them,  also,  as  a  still  further  inducement,  as 
niucli  land  as  they  could  cultivate.  Nor  were  these  the  only  reasons 
which  caused  so  many  to  leave  their  Fatherland.  With  a  wise  and  hberal 
policy,  totally  different  from  that  of  its  eastern  neighbors,  the  Dutch 
province  granted  the  fullest  rehgious  toleration.  The  Walloons,  Cal- 
vinists.  Huguenots,  Quakers,  Catholics,  and  Jews,  all  found  a  safe  and 
religious  home  in  New  Netherland,  and  here  laid  the  broad  and  solid 
foundation  of  that  tolerant  character  ever  since  retained  by  the  City  of 
New  York.  In  our  streets  and  along  our  broad  avenues  may  be  seen  on 
any  Sabbath,  Jews,  Gentiles,  and  Christians,  all  worshipping  God  in  their 
sacred  temples,  and  "  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences." 
In  the  meantime,  the  Directors  of  the  West  India  Company  calcu- 
lated, with  the  strong  aid  of  i\iepatroons^  upon  colonizing  the  new  country, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  securing  the  important  free  trade  in  their  own 
hands.  But  they  were  met,  almost  at  the  outset,  with  serious  opposition 
from  that  class  who,  not  content  with  a  negative  polic3',  took  active 
measures  to  seriously  injure  this  traffic.  From  the  first,  the  object  of 
the  patroons  had  seemed  to  be  a  participation  in  the  Indian  trade,  rather 
than  the  colonization  of  the  country ;  and  they  had  even  claimed  the 
privilege  of  trafficing  with  the  Indians  from  Florida  to  Newfoundland, 
according  to  their  charter  of  1629.  This  extensive  trade  the  West  India 
Company  justly  considered  an  interference  with  their  vested  rights  and 
interests,  and  no  time  was  lost  in  presenting  their  complaints  to  the 
States-General.  That  body  thereupon  adopted  new  articles,  the  effect  of 
which  was  essentially  to  Hmit  the  privileges  already  granted  to  the 
patroons.  This  misunderstanding  had  the  effect  of  interrupting,  for  a 
time,  the  efforts  making  to  colonize  and  advance  the  new  country.  At 
length,  in  1632,  both  parties  became  in  a  complete  state  of  antagonism  as 
to  their  privileged  charters  ;  and,  for  a  little  time,  a  civil  war  seemed 
inevitable.  In  the  same  year  (1632),  Peter  Minuit,  the  Director,  it  will 
be  remembered,  of  New  Netherland,  was  suspected  of  favoring  the 
patroons,  and  was  recalled  from  his  Directorship.  He  returned  to  Hol- 
land in  the  ship  Eendragt  (which  had  brought  over  his  dismissal),  which 
carried,  also,  a  return  cargo  of  5,000  beaver-skins — an  evidence  of  the 
colony's  commercial  prosperity.     The  vessel,  driven  by  stress  of  weather, 

I  put  into  the  harbor  of  Plymouth,  where  she  was  retained,  on  the  ground 
of  having  illegally  interfered  with  English  monopolies.  This  arrest  of 
the  Dutch  trader  led  to  a  correspondence  between  the  rival  powers,  in 
.  which  the  respective  claims  of  each  were  distinctly  set  forth.  The 
Hollanders  claimed  the  province  on  the  following  grounds  :  1st.  Its  dis- 
covery by  them  in  the  year  1609  ;  2d.  The  return  of  their  people  in  1610  ; 
3d.  The  grant  of  a  trading  charter  in  1614 ;  4th.  The  maintainance  of  a 
fort,  until  1621,  when  the  West  India  Company  was  organized ;  and, 
5th.  Their  purchase  of  the  land  from  the  Indians.     The  English,  on  the 

V 


13 

contrary,  defended  their  right  of  possession  from  the  prior  discovery  of 
Cabot,  and  the  patent  of  James  I.  to  the  Plymouth  Company.  The 
Indians,  they  argued,  as  wanderers,  were  not  the  bona  fide  owners  of  the 
land,  and  hence,  had  no  right  to  dispose  of  it ;  consequently,  their  titles 
must  be  invalid.  But  England,  being  at  this  period  just  on  the  eve  of 
a  civil  war,  was  in  no  condition  to  enforce  her  claims  ;  and  she,  therefore, 
having  released  the  Eendragt,  contented  herself  with  the  mere  assump- 
tion of  authority — reserving  the  accomplishment  of  her  designs  until  a 
more  convenient  season. 

At  length,  in  the  month  of  April,  1633,  the  ship  Southherg  reached 
Manhattan  with  Wouter  Yan  Twiller,  the  new  Director-General  (or 
Governor),  and  a  military  force  of  one  hundred  and  four  soldiers, 
together  with  a  Spanish  caraval,  captured  on  the  way.  Among  the  pas- 
sengers, also  came  Dominie  Everadus  Bogardus  and 'Adam  Eoolansen,  the 
first  regular  clergyman  and  schoolmaster  to  New  Amsterdam.  A  church 
now  became  indispensable  ;  and  the  room  over  the  horse-mill,  where 
prayers  had  been  regularly  read  for  seven  years,  was  abandoned  for 
a  rude,  wooden  church,  on  Pearl,  between  Whitehall  and  Broad  streets, 
on  the  shore  of  the  East  Piver.  This  was  the  first  Eeformed  Dutch 
Church  in  the  city;  and  near  by  were  constructed  the  parsonage  and  the 
Dominie's  stables.  The  grave-yard  was  laid  out  on  Broadway,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Morris  street. 

Yan  Twiller  occupied  "  Farm  No.  1"  of  the  Company,  which  ex- 
tended from  Wall  to  Hudson  street.  "  Farm  No.  3,  "  at  Greenwich,  he 
appropriated  as  his  tobacco  plantation.  The  new  Governor  and  the 
Dominie  did  not  harmonize.  Bogardus  having  interfered  in  pubhc  con- 
cerns, which  Yan  Twiller  resented,  the  former,  from  his  pulpit,  pronounced 
the  Governor  a  "  Child  of  Satan."  This,  doubtless,  was  very  true,  but  the 
"  Child  of  Satan  "  became  so  incensed,  as  never  to  enter  the  church-door 
again.  Early  times  had  their  own  pecuHar  ways  of  doing  things,  the 
same  as  ourselves.  In  1638,  '^for  slandering  the  Eev.  E.  Bogardus,"  an 
old  record  states,  "  a  woman  was  obliged  to  appear  at  the  sound  of  a  bell, 
in  the  fort,  before  the  Governor  and  Council,  and  say  that  she  knew  he  was 
honest  and  pious,  and  that  she  had  lied  falsely.'' 

Yan  Twiller  had  been  promoted  from  a  clerkship  in  the  Company's 
warehouse,  and  seems  to  have  been  a  very  incompetent  Governor.  He 
probably  obtained  the  place,  not  from  fitness,  but  from  the  same  means 
which  act  in  similar  cases  at  the  present  day,  viz.  :  political  influence, 
arising  from  the  fact  that  he  had  married  the  daughter  of  Killian  Yan 
Pensselaer,  the  wealthy  j9«^roow. 

The  Company  had  authorized  him  to  fortify  the  depots  of  the  fur  trade- 
Accordingly,  the  fort  on  the  Battery,  commenced  in  the  year  1626,  was 
rebuilt,  and  a  guard-house  and  barracks  prepared  for  the  soldiers.  Several 
brick  and  stone  dwellings  were  erected  within  the  fort,  and  three  wind- 


14 

mills,  used  to  grind  the  grain  necessary  for  the  garrison,  on  the  southwest 
bastion  of  the  fort.  African  slaves  were  the  laborers  principally  engaged 
upon  these  improvements.  At  a  subsequent  period,  when  these  slaves 
had  grown  old,  they  petitioned  the  authorities  for  their  freedom,  and 
recounted  their  services  at  the  time  mentioned  in  support  of  their  applica- 
tion,in  proof  of  which  they  presented  a  certificate,  given  them  by  their  over- 
seer :  "  That,  during  the  adminstration  of  Van  Twiller,  he  (Jacob  Stoffel- 
sen),  as  overseer  of  the  Company's  negroes,  was  continually  employed  with 
said  negroes  in  the  construction  of  Fort  Amsterdam,  which  was  finished 
in  1635  ;  and  that  the  negroes  assisted  in  chopping  trees  for  the  big  house, 
making  and  splitting  palisades,  and  other  work.''  The  "  big  house''  here 
referred  to  was  the  Governor's  residence.  It  was  built  of  brick,  and  was, 
no  doubt,  a  substantial  edifice,  as  it  is  found  to  have  served  for  the  resi- 
dence of  successive  'chiefs  of  the  colony  during  all  the  Dutch  era,  and 
for  a  few  years  subsequent. 

In  respect  to  the  walls  of  the  fort,  they  were  in  no  wise  improved  by 
tli«  incompetent  Van  Twiller,  except  the  northwest  bastion,  which  was 
faced  with  stone.  The  other  parts  of  the  walls  were  simply  banks  of 
earth  without  ditches ;  nor  were  they  even  surrounded  by  a  fence  to  keep 
off  the  goats  and  other  animals  running  at  large  in  the  town.  When 
Governor  Kief  arrived,  in  1638,  as  Van  Twiller's  successor,  he  found  the 
fort  in  a  decayed  state :  "  opening  on  every  side,  so  that  nothing  could 
obstruct  going  in  or  coming  out,  except  at  the  stone  point."  Nevertheless, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  fort  exercised  a  very  salutary  influence  in  keep- 
ing the  Indians  at  a  respectful  distance.* 

In  1633,  the  commercial  importance  of  New  Amsterdam  was  increased 
by  the  grant  of  the  "  Staple  Right,"  a  sort  of  feudal  privilege  similar  to 
the  institutions  of  Fatherland.  By  it,  all  vessels  trading  along  the  coast, 
or  sailing  on  the  rivers,  were  obliged  either  to  discharge  their  cargoes  at 
the  port,  or  pay  certain  duties.  This  soon  became  a  valuable  right,  as  it 
gave  to  New  Amsterdam  the  commercial  monopoly  of  the  whole  Dutch 
province. 

A  short  time  before  the  arrival  of  Governor  Van  Twiller,  De  Vries, 
whose  little  colony  at  Suaaendael,  Delaware,  had  been  cut  off  by  the 


*  III  1041,  an  Indian  war  broke  out,  and  raged  for  many  months,  resulting-  in  the 
complete  devastation  of  most  of  the  farms  and  exposed  settlements,  even  those  lying- 
within  a  stone's-throw  of  Fort  Amsterdam.  The  frig-htened  settlers  fled  to  the  fort  ; 
but  the  accommodation  in  the  fort  not  affording  them  an  adequate  shelter,  they  estab- 
lished their  cottages  as  close  as  possible  to  the  protecting  ramparts.  Thus  it  was 
that  two  or  three  new  streets  were  formed  around  tlie  southern  and  eastern  walls  of 
the  fort.  After  the  danger  had  passed,  these  buildings  were  allowed  to  remain,  and 
grants  of  land  were  made  to  the  possessors.  Thus  was  formed  that  portion  of  the 
present  Pearl  street  west  of  Whitehall  street,  anci  also  a  portion  of  the  latter 
street. —  Vcdentine' 8  Manual, 


15 

Indians,  returned  to  America  on  a  visit,  in  the  mamtnotli  ship.  Kew  Keiher- 
land.  A  yacht,  about  this  time,  also  arrived — the  Enghsh  ship,  IViUiam, 
with  Jacob  Eelkins,  who  had  been  dismissed  as  supercargo  by  the 
Company,  in  1632.  Enraged  by  this  dismissal,  he  had  entered  the  service 
of  the  English,  and  had  now  returned  to  promote  their  interests  in  the 
fur  trade  on  the  Mauritius  (Hudson)  Eiver. 

This  was  a  bold  act,  and  contrary  to  the  pohcy  of  the  West  India 
Company.  Accordingly,  Van  Twiller,  who,  though  an  inefficient  Governor, 
was  a  thorough  merchant,  and  understood  the  important  monopoly  of  the 
fur  trade,  refused  permission  for  the  vessel  to  proceed  further  on  its  way. 
His  demand  upon  Eelkins  for  his  commission  was  refused  by  the  latter, 
on  the  ground  that  he  occupied  British  territory,  and  would  sail  up  the 
river  at  the  cost,  if  need  be,  of  his  life.  Thereupon,  the  Director,  ordering 
the  national  flag  to  be  hoisted,  and  three  guns  tired  in  honor  of  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  forbade  him  to  proceed  further  in  the  name  of  his  master, 
the  Dutch  Government.  But,  far  from  being  daunted  by  this  prohibition? 
Eelkins  answered  by  running  up,  in  his  turn,,  the  British  colors,  firing  a 
salute  for  King  Charles,  and  coolly  steering  up  the  river  in  defiance  of 
Eort  Amsterdam.  The  amazement  of  Van  Twiller  at  the  audacity  of  the 
ex-Dutch  Agent  may  be  easily  imagined.  Astonished,  as  he  was,  at  this 
daring  act,  the  Director;  nevertheless,  proceeded  very  philosophically  : 
First,  he  summoned  all  the  people  in  front  of  the  fort,  now  the  Bowling 
Green  ;  next,  he  ordered  a  cask  of  wine,  and  another  of  beer ;  then, 
filling  his  own  glass,  he  called  on  all  good  citizens  who  loved  the  Prince 
of  Orange  to  follow  his  patriotic  example,  and  drink  confusion  to  the 
English  Government.  The  people,  of  course,  were  not  slow  in  obeying 
this  reasonable  request ;  indeed,  what  more  could  they  do,  for  the  English 
ship  w^as  now  far  beyond  all  reach,  safely  pursuing  her  way  up  the  Hud- 
son. Still,  while  they  drank  ^is  wine,  they  were  deeply  mortified  at  the 
Governor  s  cowardice.  De  Tries  openly  accused  him  with  it,  and  plainly 
told  him,  if  it  had  been  his  case,  he  should  have  sent  some  "  eight-pound 
beans ''  after  the  impudent  Englishman,  and  helped  him  down  the  river 
again ;  but  it  being  now  too  late  to  do  this,  he  should  send  the  Sotdhherg 
after  him,  and  drive  him  down  the  river.  The  effect  of  this  advice  was 
not  lost  upon  the  Governor,  for  in  a  few  days  after,  Van  Twiller  screwed 
up  his  courage  sufficiently  to  dispatch  an  armed  force  to  Eort  Orange 
(Albany),  Avhere  Eelkins  had  pitched  his  tent,  and  where  he  was  found 
busily  engaged  in  trading  with  the  Indians.  The  Dutch  soldiers  quickly 
destroyed  his  canvas  store,  and,  reshipping  the  goods,  brought  the  vessel 
back  to  Eort  Amsterdam.  Eelkins  was  then  required  to  give  up  his 
peltry ;  after  Avhich,  he  was  sent  to  sea,  with  the  warning  never  again 
to  interfere  with  the  Dutch  Government  trade. 

^.  Meanwhile,  the  settlement  at  Eort  Amsterdam — the  New  York 
embryo — continued  to  increase  and  prosper,  men  of  enterprise  and  wealth ' 


often  arriving.  Most  of  these  came  from  the  Dutch  Netherlands,  and 
thus  transferred  the  domestic  economy  and  habits  of  Holland  and  tlie 
Ehine  to  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  Ships  were  loaded  with  bricks, 
burnt  in  Holland ;  and  at  first,  every  dwelling  was  modeled  after  those 
they  had  left,  and  ^-ith  store-rooms  for  trade,  like  those  of  Amsterdam 
and  other  trading  towns  in  Fatherland.  Thus,  at  New  Amsterdam  and 
Fort  Orange  (Albany),  rows  of  houses  could  be  seen  built  of  imported 
brick,  with  thatched  roofs,  wooden  chimneys,  and  their  gable  ends  always 
toward  the  street.  Inside  were  all  the  neatness,  frugality,  order,  and 
industry  which  the  inmates  brought  from  their  native  land.  A  few  of 
these  original,  venerable  Dutch  homes  were  to  be  seen,  till  within  a  year 
-h  or  two,  in  this  city ;  but  we  do  not  know  of  a  single  one  now.  Several 
yet  remain  in  Albany ;  and  it  is  almost  worth  a  trip  there  to  see  these 
striking  relics  of  ''  ye  olden  time.''  Until  the  year  164*2,  city  lots  and 
streets  were  unknown,  adventurers  and  settlers  selecting  land  wherever 
most  convenient  for  their  purpose.  Hence  the  crooked  courses  of  some 
of  our  down-town  streets.* 

Cornelius  Dircksen  owned  a  farm  by  the  present  Peck  Shp,  and 
ferried  passengers  across  the  East  Eiver  for  the  small  price  of  three 
stivers,  in  wampum.  At  that  time,  Pearl  street  formed  the  bank  of  the 
river.  AYater,  Front,  and  South  streets  have  all  been  reclaimed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  increasing  trade  and  commerce.  The  old  wooden,  shingled  house, 
one  of  the  last  venerable  relics  of  the  olden  ti""  on  the  comer  of  Peck 
Slip,  was  so  near  the  i-iver,  that  a  stone  coidu  easily  be  thrown  into  it. 
Pearl,  it  is  thought,  was  the  first  sti'eet  occupied,  the  first  houses  being 
built  here,  in  1638.  Bridge  street  came  next ;  and  a  deed  is  still  in  exist- 
ence for  a  lot  on  it,  thirty-four  by  one  hundred  and  ten  feet,  for  the  sum  of 
twenty-four  guilders,  or  nine  dollars  and  sixty  cents.  This  is  the  earliest 
conveyance  of  city  property  on  record.  Whitehall,  Stone,  Broad,  Beaver, 
and  Marketfield  were  opened  soon  after.  In  the  year  1642,  the  first  grant 
of  a  city  lot,  east  of  the  fort  at  the  Battery,  was  made  to  Hendricksen 
Rip.  During  the  next  year,  several  lots  were  granted  on  the  lower  end  of 
''  Heese  Straat,"'  as  Broadway  was  then  named.  Martin  Krigier  was  the 
first  grantee  of  a  lot  in  tliis  section,  opposite  the  Bowling  Green,  which 
contained  eighty-six  rods.  There  he  built  the  well-known  '*  Krigier's 
Tavern,''  which  soon  became  a  fashionable  resort. f 

Nor  during  all  this  time  did  the  fur  trade  fail  to  keep  pace  with  the 
growing  local  prosperity  of  the  place.     During  the  year  163"),  the  Directors 


*  Pearl  street,  for  instance. 

f  Upon  the  demolishment  of  this  tavern,  the  *'  King's  Arms'  Tavern"  occupied  its 
place,  which  in  after  years  was  the  headquarters  of  the  British  General  G  ige.  ■ 
Subsequently,  it  became  the  "  Atlantic  Garden,"  No,  9  Broadway,  where  it  long 
remained  one  of  the  striking  mementoes  of  the  olden  time. 


17 

in  Holland  received  returns  from  this  province  to  the  amount  of  nearly 
135,000  guilders.  But  the  traffic  in  furs  was  not  the  only  source  of  gain. 
Besides  that  monopol^^,  they  had  commenced  a  profitable  commerce  with 
New  England.  Dutch  vessels  brought  tobacco,  salt,  horses,  oxen,  and 
sheep  from  Holland  to  Boston.  An  old  account  says  they  came  from  the 
Texel  in  five  weeks  and  three  days,  "  and  lost  not  one  beast  or  sheep." 
Potatoes  from  Bermuda  were  worth  two  pence  the  pound ;  a  good  cow, 
twenty-five  or  thirty  pounds ;  and  a  pair  of  oxen  readily  brought  forty 
pounds.  In  Virginia,  corn  rose  to  twenty  shillings  the  bushel  during  the 
year  1637;  a  shepel,  or  three  pecks  of  rye,  brought  two  guilders,  or 
eighty  cents ;  and  a  laborer  readily  earned,  during  harvest,  two  guilders 
'per  diem.  These  were  high  prices  for  those  times,  and  were  probably 
caused,  in  a  measure,  by  the  sanguinary  war  which  the  New  England 
Puritans*  were  carrying  on  with  their  Indian  neighbors.  The  Pequods, 
failing  to  deliver  the  murderers  of  Stone,  according  to  treaty,  had  tendered 
an  atonement  of  wampum.,  but  Massachusetts  demanded  ''blood  for  blood"; 
and  they  obtained  it  in  the  wars  that  followed.  Winthrop  says  :  "  Scarcely 
a  sannup,  a  woman,  a  squaw,  or  a  child  of  the  Pequod  name,  survived.' 
An  aboriginal  nation  had  been  exterminated.  It  is  the  fashion  to  indulge 
in  much  panegyric  about  these  ancestral  doings,  but  here  we  can  calmly 
trace  the  first  attempt  of  the  white  race  to  extirpate  the  red  men  from 
their  ancestral  birthright  of  the  northern  regions  of  America. 

Notwithstanding,  h^-vever,  the  large  prices  obtained  for  its  wares, 
the  year  1638  found  the  condition  of  New  Netherland  very  unpromising. 
Although  its  affairs  had  now,  been  administered  for  fifteen  years  by  that 
powerful  body,  the  West  India  Company,  still,  the  country  was  scarcely 
removed  from  its  primitive  wilderness  state,  and,  excepting  the  Indians,  it 
was  inhabited  by  only  a  few  traders  and  clerks  of  a  distant  corporation. 
Its  rich,  virgin  soil  remained  almost  entirely  uncultivated,  and  the  farms 
did  not  amount  to  more  than  half  a  dozen.  Doubtless,  the  Directors  of 
the  West  India  Company  governed  New  Netherland  chiefly  to  promote 
their  own  special  interests — to  advance  which,  large  sums  had  been 
expended.  But  no  efforts  had  been  made  as  yet  to  introduce,  on  a  large 
scale,  a  sound  and  industrious  emigration.  The  patroon  system  also,  to 
which  reference  has  already  been  made,  greatly  retarded  the  settlement 
of  the  colony.  A  monopoly,  its  patroons  neglected  their  most  important 
duties  as  planters,  and  used  their  energies  and  means  to  compete  with 
the  Company  in  the  Indian  trade  ;  consequently,  misunderstandings  and 
disputes  followed  which  became  almost  fatal  to  the  prosperity  of  the  new 
settlement. 

*  Puritans,  not  Pilgrim%.  These  terms,  though  generally  Tised  synonomouslj, 
refer  to  two  entirely  different  classes  of  men.  The  Pdgrims  never  practiced  religious 
persecution ;  the  Puritans  did.  The  Pilgrims  came  over  some  fifteen  years  earlier 
than  the  Puritans. 

2 


18 

At  this  critical  moment,  William  Kief't,  the  third  Director-General 
and  Governor,  arrived  March,  1638,  as  the  successor  of  the  weak  Yan 
Twiller.  His  first  step  was  to  organize  a  Council,  retaining,  however,  its 
entire  control.  Dr.  Johannes  La  Montagnie,  a  learned  Huguenot,  was 
appointed  by  him  a  member  of  this  new  board ;  Cornelis  Yan  Tienhoven, 
from  Utrecht,  one  of  the  oldest  settlers,  was  made  Colonial  Secretary,  with 
a  salary  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  2)er  annum  ;  while  Ulrich  Leopold 
continued  as  Schout-Fiscal,  or  Sheriff  and  Attorney-General.  Adrian 
Dircksen  was  made  Assistant-Commissary,  because  he  spoke  correctly 
the  language  of  the  Mohawks,  and  was  "  well  versed  in  the  art  of  trading 
with  them."  The  Eev.  Mr.  Bogardus  continued  the  Dominie,  and  Adam 
Hoolansen  the  Schoolmaster.* 

The  new  Governor  found  the  town  in  an  extremely  dilapidated  con- 
dition. The  fort,  rebuilt  only  three  years  before,  under  a  government 
contract,  had  lasted  about  as  long  as  work  generally  does  that  is  performed 
by  army  or  government  contractors,  either  of  the  past  or  present  day.  It 
had  fallen  completely  into  decay ;  all  the  guns  were  ofi"  their  carriages ; 
and  the  public  buildings,  as  well  as  the  church,  were  all  out  of  repair ; 
only  one  of  the  three  wind-mills  was  in  operation  ;  and  the  Company's  fine 
farms  had  no  tenants — not  even  a  goat  remaining  upon  them.  But  the 
new  Governor  came  charged  with  more  onerous  duties  than  simply  the 
repair  of  houses ;  he  was  the  bearer  of  a  decree  that  no  person  in  the 
Dutch  Company's  employ  should  trade  in  i^eltry,  or  import  any  furs, 
under  a  penalty  of  losing  their  wages,  and  a  confiscation  of  their  goods. 
Abuses  also  existed  in  all  the  departments  of  the  public  service,  which 
Kieft  vainly  attempted  to  remedy  by  proclamations.  Death  was  threat- 
ened against  all  who  should  sell  guns  or  powder  to  the  Indians ;  after 
nightfall,  all  sailors  were  to  remain  on  board  their  vessels ;  no  persons 
could  retail  any  liquors,  "except  those  who  sold  wine  at  a  decent  price, 
and  in  moderate  quantities,"  under  penalty  of  twenty-five  guilders  (ten 
doUars),  and  the  loss  of  their  stock.  Tobacco,  then  as  now,  was  greatly 
in  demand,  the  rich,  virgin  soil  about  New  Amsterdam  suiting  the  plant 
well;  consequently,  plantations  for  its  cultivation  increased  so  fast,  that  the 
plant  was  now  also  subjected  to  excise,  and  regulations  were  published 
by  the  Director  to  regulate  its  mode  of  culture,  and  check  certain  abuses 
which  was  injuring  "the  high  name"  it  had  ''gained  in  foreign  countries."! 
But  the  new  Governor  did  not  confine  himself  to  correcting  official  abuses 
solely ;  he  issued  also,  proclamations  to  improve  the  moral  condition  of 


*  Here  are  some  of  the  salaries  of  that  early  day,  which  we  give  for  the  benefit 
of  some  of  our  city  officials :  La  Montagnie,  as  Member  of  the  Council,  fourteen 
dollars  a  month  ;  book-keeper,  fourteen  dollars  and  forty* cents,  with  eighty  dollars 
for  his  yearly  board;  the  mason,  eight  dollars;  joiner,  six  dollars  and  forty  cents; 
carpenter,  seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  and  forty  dollars  a  year  for  board  ! 

t  Albany  Records,  H.,  3—12. 


19 

the  settlement ;  and  all  persons  were  seriously  enjoined  to  abstain  from 
"  fighting,  calumny,  and  all  other  immoralities,"  as  the  guilty  would  be 
punished,  and  made  a  terror  to  evil-doers.  Rightly  judging  also,  that 
public  worship  would  be  a  peaceful  auxiliary  to  his  labors,  and  the  old 
wooden  church  built  by  Yan  Twiller  having  fallen  to  pieces,  he  deter- 
mined to  erect  a  new  one  inside  the  fort.  Jochem  Pietersen,  Knyter,  Jan. 
Jansen  Damen,  with  Kieft  and  Captain  Tries,  as  ''  Kirke  Meesters,"  super- 
intended the  new  work,  and  John  and  Eichard  Ogden  were  the  masons. 
The  building  was  of  stone,  seventy-two  by  fifty-two  feet,  and  sixteen  high, 
and  cost  2,500  guilders ;  its  legend,  translated  from  the  Dutch,  read  : 
''Anno  Domini,  16-4'2,  AVilhelm  Kieft,  Director-General,  hath  the  Com- 
monalty caused  to  build  this  temple."  New  Amsterdam  had  a  town- 
bell  ;  this  was  now  removed  to  the  belfry  of  the  new  church,,  whence  it 
regulated  the  city'  movements,  the  time  for  laborers,  the  courts,  merry 
wedding  peals,  tolled  the  funerals,  and  called  the  people  to  the  Lord's 
House.* 

Hardly,  however,  had  Kieft  got  his  plans  for  the  moral  reformation 
of  his  people  fairly  under  way,  when,  as  before  hinted,  the  patroons  began 
to  give  fresh  trouble ;  that  (ilass  now  (1638)  demanded  '•  new  privileges" — 
'*  that  they  might  monopolize  more  territory — be  invested  with  the  largest 
feudal  powers,  and  enjoy  free  trade  throughout  New  Netherland."  Nor 
was  this  all.  In  their  arrogance,  they  also  demanded  that  all  "  private 
persons"  and  poor  emigrants  should  not  be  allowed  to  purchase  lands 
from  the  Indians,  but  should  settle  within  the  colonies  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  manorial  lords — i.  e.^  themselves. 

These  grasping  demands  of  the  patroons  were  reserved  for  future 
consideration  by  the  States-General ;  and  it  was  determined  to  try  free 
competition  in  the  internal  trade  of  New  Netherland.  A  notification  was 
accordingly  published  by  the  Amsterdam  Chamber,  that  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  United  Provinces,  and  of  friendly  countries,  might  convey  to 
New  Netherland,  "  in  the  Company's  ships,"  any  cattle  and  merchandise, 
and  might  "  receive  whatever  returns  they  or  their  agents  may  be  able  to 

*  At  this  period  (1638),  the  settlers  in  New  Amsterdam  obtained  their  supplies 
from  the  Company's  store  at  fifty  per  cent,  advance  on  prime  cost,  a  list  of  prices 
being  placed  in  a  conspicuous  position  in  some  place  of  public  resort.  Here  are 
some  of  the  rates :  Indian  com,  sixty  cents  per  schepel  of  three  pecks  ;  barley,  two 
dollars  ;  peas,  three  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents ;  flour,  one  dollar  ;  pork,  five  stivers  ; 
fresh  meat,  five  ;  butter,  eight ;  tobacco,  seven ;  dried  fish,  twelve  (two  York  shillings) 
per  pound ;  hard-bread,  fifteen ;  rye,  five  ;  wheaten,  seven ;  cabbage,  twelve  dollars 
per  hundred ;  staves,  thirty-two  dollars  per  thousand  ;  a  hog,  eight  dollars ;  ordinary 
wine,  thirty-one  dollars  per  hogshead ;  Spanish  wine,  four  stivers ;  French  wine,  ten 
per  quart ;  sugar,  seventeen  and  twenty-four  per  pound ;  flannel,  one  dollar  and 
twenty  cents  per  ell ;  cloth,  two  dollars ;  white  linen,  eighteen  to  twenty  stivers ; 
red  flannels,  one  dollar  and  twenty  cents ;  children's  shoes,  thirty-six  stivers,  or  six 
York  shillings ;  a  pair  of  brass  kettles,  forty  cents  each. 


20 

obtain  in  those  quarters  tlierefor."  A  duty  of  ten  per  cent,  was  paid  to 
the  Company  on  all  goods  exported  from  New  Netherland  with  the 
freight.  Every  emigrant,  upon  his  arrival  at  New  Amsterdam,  was  to 
receive  "  as  much  land  as  he  and  his  family  could  propeily  cultivate." 
This  liberal  system  gave  a  great  impulse  to  the  prosperity  of  New 
Netherland,  by  encouraging  the  emigration  of  substantial  colonists,  not 
only  from  Holland,  but  from  Virginia  and  New  England.  Conscience  had 
ever  been  free  in  New  Netherland,  S(Sd  now  trade  and  commerce  were 
also  made  free  to  all.  Political  franchise  in  Massachusetts  was  limited 
to  church  members,  and  now  ''  many  men  began  to  inquire  after  the 
Southern  ports,"  not  from  the  climate  there,  or  the  necessary  wants  of 
life,  but,  in  the  language  of  the  old  chronicler,  ''  to  escape  their  insup- 
portable government."  The  only  obligation  required  of  emigrants  was- 
an  oath  of  fidelity  and  allegiance  to  the  colony,  the  same  as  imposed  upon, 
the  Dutch  settlers.     Both  parties  enjoyed  equal  pri\ileges. 

This  free  internal  trade,  however,  produced  some  irregularities ;  and 
a  new  proclamation  now  became  necessary  to  warn  all  persons  against 
selling  guns  or  ammunition  to  the  Indians.  Still  another  edict  prohibited 
persons  from  sailing  to  Fort  Orange  (Albany),  and  the  South  Biver  (Fort 
Hope),  and  returning  without  a  passport.  Another  very  unpopular 
edict  also,  was  shortly  after  issued  by  Kieft.  His  extreme  anxiety  to 
BQTYQhi^  patrons  caused  him  to  "  demand  some  tribute"  of  maize,  furs,  or 
sewant,  from  the  neighboring  Indians,  "  whom,"'  he  said,  "  we  have  thus 
far  defended  against  their  enemies  ;"  and  in  case  of  their  refusal,  proper 
measures  were  to  be  taken  to  "  remove  their  reluctance." 

In  regard,  however,  to  the  Governor's  proclamation  against  selling 
guns,  &c.,  to  the  Indians,  nothing  can  be  said  against  it.  The  case 
demanded  it.  Freedom  of  trade  v.-ith  the  savages  had,  indeed,  run  into 
abuses  and  injurious  excesses. 

The  colonists  neglected  agriculture  for  the  quicker  gains  of  traffic  ; 
and  at  times  by  settling  "  far  in  the  interior  of  the  country,"  and,  by  great 
familiarity  and  "  treating,"  brought  themselves  into  contempt  with  the 
Indians.  Evil  consequences,  as  a  matter  of  course,  followed  this  unwise 
conduct — the  most  unfortunate  of  which  was  supplying  the  savages  witk 
new  weapons  of  defense.  They  considered  the  gun,  at  first,  "  the  Bevil^^ 
and  would  not  even  touch  it ;  but,  once  discovering  its  fatal  use,  eagerly 
sought  the  fire-arms  of  the  whites.  They  would  willingly  barter  twenty 
beaver-skins  for  a  single  musket,  and  pay  ten  or  twelve  guilders  for  a 
pound  of  powder.  As  no  merchandise  became  so  valuable  to  the  red 
men,  the  West  India  Company  foresaw  the  evil  of  arming  the  savages, 
and  declared  the  trade  in  fire-arms  contraband.  It  even  forbade  the  sup- 
ply to  the  New  Netherland  Indians,  under  penalty  of  death.  But  the 
prospect  of  large  profits  easily  nulHfied  this  law  of  prudence  and 
wisdom. 


21 

In  1640,  Director  Kieft  determined  upon  another  unwise  measure, 
viz. :  the  exaction  of  a  contribution,  a  tax  of  corn,  furs,  and  wampum  from 
the  Indians  about  Fort  Amsterdam.  This  and  other  improper  acts 
entirely  estranged  them  from  the  settlers,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  a 
bloody  war,  which,  the  next  year  (161:1),  desolated  New  Netherland. 
Meanwhile,  Kieft,  continuing  stubborn,  sent  sloops  to  Tappan  to  levy 
contributions  ;  but  the  natives  indignantly  refused  to  pay  the  novel 
tribute.  In  their  own  plain  language,  they  wondered  how  the  Sachem  at 
the  fort  dared  to  exact  such  things  from  them.  He  must  be,  they  said, 
a  very  shabby  fellow ;  he  had  come  to  live  in  their  land,  where  they  had 
not  invited  him,  and  now  came  to  deprive  them  of  their  corn,  for  no 
equivalent.  They,  therefore,  refused  to  pay,  adding  this  unanswerable 
argument :  "  If  we  have  ceded  to  you  the  country  you  are  living  in,  we 
yet  remain  masters  of  what  we  have  retained  for  ourselves  I'' 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  many  injudicious  acts  of  Governor 
Kieft,  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  during  his  administration,  the  trade  of 
New  Amsterdam  began  to  be  better  regulated.  The  streets  of  the  town 
also,  were  better  laid  out  in  the  lower  section  of  the  city.*  In  1641, 
Kieft  instituted  two  annual  fairs,  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  agri- 
culture— one  of  which  was  held  in  October,  for  cattle,  and  the  other  the 
next  month,  for  hogs,  upon  the  Bowling  Green.  The  holding  of  these 
fairs  opened  the  way  for  another  important  addition  to  the  comfort  of 
the  town.  No  tavern,  as  yet,  had  been  started  in  the  Dutch  settlement; 
and  the  numerous  visitors  from  the  interior  and  the  New  England  col- 
onies had  to  avail  themselves  of  the»  Governor's  hospitalities.  The  fairs 
increasing  in  number,  Kieft  found  them  a  heavy  tax  upon  his  politeness, 
as  well  as  his  larder  ;  and,  in  1642,  he  erected  a  large,  stone  tavern,  at 
the  Company's  expense.  It  was  situated  on  a  commanding  spot,  near 
the  present  Coenties  Slip,  and  was  afterward  altered  into  the  "  Stadt 
Buy8^'  or  City  Hall. 

The  Governor  now  succeeded  better,  not  only  in  enforcing  law  and 
restraining  contraband  trade,  but  in  checking  the  importation  of  bad 
wampum^  which  had  become  a  serious  loss  to  the  traders,  by  reducing  its 
value  from  four  to  six  beads  for  a  stiver. 

This  ivampum  or  sewant^  from  its  close  connection  with  the  early  trade 
of  New  Netherland,  requires  special  notice.  This  kind  of  money,  or  cir- 
culating medium,  embraced  two  kinds,  the  wampum  or  white,  and  the 
Sackanhook  Suci,  or  black  sewant.  The  former  was  made  from  the  peri- 
winkle, and  the  latter  from  the  purple  part  of  the  hard  clam.  These, 
rounded  into  beads  and  pohshed,  with  drilled  holes,  were  strung  upon  the 
sinews  of  animals,  and  woven  into  different  size  belts.  Black  beads  were 
twice  as  valuable  as  the  white,  and  the  latter  became,  therefore,  naturally, 

*The  price  of  lots,  80x125  feet,  averaged  at  this  period  about  $14. 


22 

the  standard  of  value.  A  string,  a  fatliom  long,*  was  worth  four  guilders. 
The  best  article  was  manufactured  by  the  Long  Island  Indians ;  and, 
until  a  comparatively  late  period,  the  Montauks  on  that  Island,  or  rather, 
their  descendants,  manufactured  this  shell  money  for  the  interior  tribes. 
A  clerk  of  John  Jacob  Astor  many  years  ago  informed  the  Hon.  Gr.  P. 
Disosway  that  he  had  visited  Communipaw,  and  purchased,  for  his 
employer  from  the  Dutch  this  article  by  the  bushel,  to  be  used  by  the 
great  fur  dealer  in  his  purchases  among  the  distant  savages.  It  might, 
perhaps,  be  a  curious  question,  how  many  bushels  of  wampum  is 
invested,  for  example,  in  the  hotel  which  bears  the  name  of  the  great  fu  r 
miUionaire  ?  The  New  England  Indians,  imitating  their  whiter- faced 
neighbors,  made  a  cheaper  wampum,  rough,  of  inferior  quality,  and  badly 
strung.  Nor  was  it  long  before  the  New  Englanders  introduced  large 
quantities  of  their  imperfect  beads  into  New  Netherland  for  the  Dutch- 
man's goods ;  next,  beads  of  porcelain  were  manufactured  in  Europe, 
and  circulated  among  the  colonists,  until  the  evil  finally  became  so  great, 
that  the  Council,  in  1641,  published  an  ordinance,  declaring  that  a  large 
quantity  of  bad  sewant,  imported  from  other  places,  was  in  circulation, 
while  the  good  and  really  fine  sewant,  usually  called  "  Manhattan  Sewant,'''' 
was  kept  out  of  sight,  or  exported — a  state  of  things  which  must  event- 
ually ruin  the  country.  To  cure  this  pubHc  evil,  the  ordinance  provided 
that  all  coarse  sewant,  well  stringed,  should  pass  for  one  stiver.  This 
is  the  first  ordinance,  on  record,  to  regulate  such  currency.  In  the  year 
16-17,  they  were  again  reduced  from  six  to  eight  for  a  stiver,  and  thus 
became  the  commercial  greenbacks  of  the  early  Dutch. 

iVbout  this  period,  the  increasing  intercourse  and  business  with  the 
English  settlements  made  it  necessary  that  more  attention  should  be  paid 
to  the  English  language.  Governor  Kieft  had,  it  is  true,  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  English  tongue  ;  but  his  suVjordinates  were  generally  ignorant 
of  it — a  circumstance  which,  often  caused  great  embarrassment.  George 
Baxter  was  accordingly  appointed  his  English  Secretary,  with  a  salary  of 
two  hundred  dollars  per  annum ;  and  thus,  for  the  first  time,  the  English 
language  was  officially  recognized  In  New  Amsterdam. 

As  the  colony  grew  stronger,  the  Dutch  scattered  themselves  more 
over  the  interior ;  established  themselves  more  firmly  at  Manhattan  ;  and 
in  this  way  gave  to  the  City  of  New  York  its  first  incorporation  two  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  years  ago.  The  ferries  received  early  attention  from  the 
corporation.  No  one  was  permitted  to  be  a  ferryman,  without  a  license 
from  the  magistrates.  The  ferryman  also  was  required  to  provide  proper 
boats  and  servants,  with  houses,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  to  accommo- 
date passengers.     All  officials  passed  free  of  toll ;  or,  to  speak  more  in 

*  A  *'  fathom."  was  estimated,  at  "  as  inueh  as  a  man  could  reach  with  rys  arms 
outstretched."  The  savages,  consequently,  were  shrewd  enough  (in  trading  with  the 
whites)  to  choose  their  large.st  and  tallest  men  for  measuring  sticks  or  standards. 


23 

accordance  with  the  language  of  the  present  day,  were  dead-heads.  But 
the  ferryman  was  not  compelled  to  cross  the  river  in  a  tempest.  Foot- 
passengers  were  charged  three  stivers  each,  except  the  Indians,  who 
paid  six,  unless  two  or  more  went  over  together.*  The  annual  salary  of 
the  Burgomasters  was  also,  at  this  period,  fixed  at  three  hundred  and 
fifty  guilders  (think  of  that,  oh,  City  Fathers  I),  and  the  Shepens  at  two 
hundred  and  fifty.  A  corporate  seal  was  now  granted  to  the  city,  in 
which  the  principal  object  was  a  heaver.,  as  was  also  the  case,  as  has  been 
seen,  with  the  seal  of  the  New  Netherlands. 

The  first  charter  of  New  Netherland  restricted,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
commercial  privileges  of  the  patroons ;  but  in  the  year  16J:0,  they  were 
extended  to  "  all  free  colonists,"  and  the  stockholders  in  the  Dutch 
Company.  Nevertheless,  the  latter  body  adhered  to  onerous  imports,  for 
its  own  benefit,  and  required  a  duty  of  ten  per  cent,  on  all  goods  shipped 
to  New  Netherland,  and  five  upon  return  cargoes,  excepting  peltry, 
which  paid  ten  at  Manhattan,  before  exported.  The  prohibition  of  manu- 
factures within  the  province  was  now  abolished,  and  the  Company  renewed 
its  promise  to  send  over  "  as  many  blacks  as  possible." 

In  1643,  the  colonists  easily  obtained  goods  from  the  Company's  ware- 
house, whither  they  were  obliged  to  bring  their  fur  purchases,  before 
shipment  to  Holland.  The  furs  were  then  generally  sold  at  Amsterdam, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  patroon,  whose  share,  at  first,  was  one-half, 
but  was  afterward  reduced  to  one-sixth.  Under  this  system,  the  price  of 
a  beaver's  skin,  which  before  1642  had  been  six,  now  rose  to  ten  "  fathoms.'* 
It  was,  therefore,  considered  proper  for  the  colonial  authorities  to 
regulate  this  trafiic ;  and  they,  accordingly,  fixed  the  price  at  nine 
' '  fathoms  "  of  white  ivamptim,  at  the  same  time  forbidding  all  persons  to 
"  go  into  the  bush  to  trade."  Another  proclamation  also  declared  that 
no  inhabitants  of  the  colonies  should  presume  to  buy  any  goods  from  the 
residents.  It  would  appear,  however,  that  these  ordinances  could  not 
be  enforced  ;  for  a  sloop,  soon  after^  arriving  witli  a  cargo,  the  colonists 
purchased  what  they  wanted.  The  commissary  was  then  ordered  to 
search  the  houses  for  concealed  goods.  But  the  old  record  naively  says  r 
"  The  Schout  gossipped,  without  making  a  search."  How  closely  do  the 
custom-house  officers  of  the  present  day  follow  in  the  steps  of  their  ances- 
tral colleagues  I 

In  1644,  the  ever-busy  New  Englanders — imagining  that  the  beavers 
came  from  "  a  great  lake  in  the  northwest  part"  of  their  patent — began 
to  covet  a  share  in  the  fur  ti-ade  on  the  Delaware.  Accordingly,  an  ex- 
pedition was  dispatched  from  Boston  to  "  sail  up  the  Delaware,  as  high  as 
they  could   go;    and  some  of  the  company,  under  the  conduct  of  Mr. 

*  On  the  I9th  of  March,  1658,  the  ferry  was  put  up  at  auction,  and  leased  to 
Hermanns  Van  Bossung,  for  three  years,  at  three  hundred  guilders  per  annum. 
Compare  this  with  the  price  recently  paid  by  Mr.  Stevens  for  a  lease  of  the  Hoboken 
Ferry. 


24 

William  Aspinwall,  a  good  artist,  and  one  who  had  been  in  those  parts, 
to  pass  b}^  small  skiffs  or  canoes  up  the  river,  so  far  as  they  could.'' 
Connected  with  this  exploring  party  two  centuries  and  a  quarter  ago,  we 
accordingly  notice  a  name  of  world-wide  fame  among  us — that  of  one  of 
our  noblest  and  most  honored  merchants.  The  expedition  failing,  another 
bark  "  was  sent  out  the  same  year  from  Boston,  to  trade  at  Delaware." 
Wintering  in  the  bay,  during  the  spring  she  went  to  the  Maryland  side, 
and  in  three  weeks  obtained  five  hundred  beaver-skins — a  "  good  parcel." 
But  this  second  Boston  trading  voyage  was  ruined  by  the  savages ;  for, 
as  the  bark  was  leaving,  fifteen  Indians  came  aboard,  "  as  if  they  would 
trade  again,"  and  suddenly  drawing  their  hatchets  from  under  their  coats, 
killed  the  captain,  with  three  of  the  crew,  and  then  rifled  the  vessel  of  all 
her  goods. 

This  continued  interference  of  New  England  adventurers  with  the 
Delaware  trade,  at  length  became  very  annoying  to  Kieft,  as  well  as  to 
Printz,  the  Swedish  Governor  of  the  Delaware  colony.  The  Dutch  at 
New  Amsterdam,  as  the  earliest  explorers  of  South  Biver,  had  seen  their 
trading  monopoly  there  invaded  by  the  Swedes  ;  but  when  the  New 
Englanders  made  their  appearance  in  pursuit  of  the  same  prize,  the 
Swedes  made  common  cause  with  the  Dutch  to  repel  the  new  intruders. 
The  question  of  sovereignty  was  soon  raised  abroad  by  the  arrival  of  two 
Swedish  ships,  the  Key  of  Cahnar  and  the  Flame^  sent  home  by  Printz  with 
large  cargoes  of  tobacco  and  beaver-skins.  Bad  weather,  and  the  war  just 
begun  between  Denmark  and  Sweden,  made  these  vessels  run  into  the 
Port  of  Harhngton  in  Friesland.  There  they  were  seized  by  the  West 
India  Company,  which  both  claimed  sovereignty  over  all  the  regions  around 
the  South  Eiver  and  exacted  the  import  duties  that  their  charter  granted 
it.  The  Swedish  IVIinister  at  the  Hague  protested  against  these  exactions ; 
and  a  long  correspondence  ensued,  which  resulted  in  the  vessels  being 
discharged  the  following  summer  upon  the  payment  of  the  import  duties. 

During  the  year  1644,  Kieft,  headstrong  and  imprudent  as  usual, 
became  involved  in  a  war  with  the  New  England  Indians.  At  this  junc- 
ture of  affairs,  a  ship  arrived  from  Holland  with  a  cargo  of  goods  for 
Yan  Rensselaer's  patroonery^  and  Kieft,  the  Dutch  forces  being  in  want 
of  clothing,  called  upon  the  supercargo  to  furnish  fifty  pairs  of  shoes  for 
the  soldiers,  ofiering  full  payment  in  silver,  beavers,  or  ivampum.  The 
supercargo,  however,  zealously  regarding  his  patrooti's  mercantile  interests, 
refused  to  comply,  whereupon  the  Governor  ordered  a  levy,  and  obtained 
enough  shoes  to  supply  as  many  soldiers  as  afterward  killed  five  hundred 
of  the  enemy.  The  Governor,  much  provoked,  next  commanded  the  ves- 
sel to  be  thoroughly  searched,  when  a  large  lot  of  guns  and  ammunition, 
not  in  the  manifest,  were  declared  contraband,  and  the  ship  and  cargo 
confiscated.  Winthrop  says  that  he  had  on  board  4,000  weight  of  pow- 
der and  seven  hundred  pieces  to  trade  with  the  natives.     Eor  such  acts 


25 

as  these,  Kieft  seems  to  have  been  equally  detested  by  Indians  and  Dutch, 
the  former  desiring  his  removal,  and  daily  crying  "  Wouter  !  Woutcr  I" 
meaning  Wouter  Van  Twiller,  his  immediate  predecessor. 

Meanwhile,  the  Indian  war  continued ;  the  Dutch  settlers  were  in 
danger  of  utter  destruction  ;  and  the  expenses  of  the  soldiery  could  not 
be  met.  Neither  could  the  West  India  Company  send  aid  to  its  unfor- 
tunate colony,  as  that  body  had  been  made  bankrupt  by  its  military  oper- 
ations in  Brazil.  A  bill  of  exchange,  drawn  by  Kieft  upon  the  Amster- 
dam Chamber,  came  back  protested.  The  demands  for  public  money 
were  too  pressing  to  await  the  slow  proceedings  of  an  Admiralty  Court. 
Accordingly,  soon  after  this,  on  the  29th  of  May,  1644,  a  privateer,  the 
La  Garce,  Captain  Blauvelt,  having  been  commissioned  by  the  Governor 
to  cruize  in  the  West  Indies,  returned  to  Manhattan  with  two  rich  Span- 
ish prizes. 

Director  Kieft  now  proposed  to  replenish  the  Provisional  Treasury 
by  an  excise  on  wine,  beer,  brandy,  and  beaver-skins.  This  was  opposed 
by  his  official  advisers,  or  the  so-called  "  Eight  Men,"  because  they 
thought  such  an  act  would  be  oppressive,  and  the  right  of  taxation 
belonged  to  sovereignty,  and  not  to  an  inferior  officer  in  New  Netherland. 
An  old  account  says  that  the  Director  was  "  very  much  offended,"  and 
sharply  reprimanded  the  people's  representatives,  declaring,  "  I  have 
more  power  here  than  the  Company  itself ;  therefore  I  may  do  and  suffer 
in  this  country  what  I  please  ;  I  am  my  own  master."  x=  *  * 

Bemaining  immovable,  however,  he  three  days  afterward  arbitrarily 
ordered  "  that  on  each  barrel  of  beer  tapped,  an  excise  duty  of  two 
guilders  should  be  paid,  one-half  by  the  brewer,  and  one-half  by  the  pub- 
lican." But  those  burghers  who  did  not  retail  it  were  to  pay  only  one- 
half  as  much.  On  every  quart  of  brandy  and  wine  also,  four  stivers 
were  to  be  paid,  and  on  every  beaver-skin  one  guilder.  Besides  the 
excise  on  the  beer,  the  brewers  were  also  required  to  make  a  return  of 
the  quantity  they  brewed  ;  but  upon  their  sternly  refusing  to  pay  the 
unjust  tribute,  judgment  was  obtained  against  them,  and  their  beer 
^'  given  as  a  prize  to  the  soldiers." 

About  this  time,  the  ship  BJue  Cock  arrived  from  Curacoa  with  one 
hundred  and  thirty  Dutch  soldiers,  quite  a  relief  to  the  New  Nether- 
landers  against  their  savage  foe. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  to  restrain  illicit  traffic,  it  still  con- 
tinued at  E-ensselaerswyck  (Albany),  where  three  or  four  thousand  furs 
had  been  carried  away  by  unlicensed  traders.  Van  Rensselaer,  now 
determined,  "  as  the  first  and  oldest"  patroon  on  the  river,  that  no  one 
should  "  presume  to  abuse"  his  acquired  rights,  erected  a  small  fort  on 
Beelen  Island.  A  claim  of  "  staple  right"  was  there  set  up,  and  Nicho- 
las Koorn  was  appointed  "  watch-meester,"  to  levy  a  toll  of  five  guilders 
upon  all  vessels  passing  by,  except  those  of  the  West   India  Company, 


26 

and  to  make  them  also  lower  their  colors  to  the  merchant  patroorCs 
authority.  This  annoyance  soon  manifested  itself,  for  while  the  Good 
Mope^  a  little  yacht,  Captain  Lookermans,  was  passing  down  from  Fort 
Orange  to  Manhattan,  ''  a  gun  without  ball"  was  fired  from  the  new  fort, 
and  Koorn  cried  out,  "  Strike  thy  colors  !"  'Tor  whom  ?"  demanded 
the  captain  of  the  vessel.  "  For  the  staple  right  of  Eensselaer  !"  was  the 
reply.  ''  I  strike  for  nobody  but  the  Prince  of  Orange,  or  those  by  whom 
I  am  employed  !"  retorted  the  testy  Dutchman,  as  he  slowly  steered  on. 
Several  shots  followed.  "  The  first,"  according  to  the  old  account,  "  went 
through  the  sail,  and  broke  the  ropes  and  the  ladder;  a  second  shot 
passed  over  us ;  and  the  third,  fired  by  a  savage,  perforated  our  princely 
colors,  about  a  foot  above  the  head  of  Loockermans,  who  kept  the  colors 
constantly  in  his  hand." 

For  this  daring  act,  Koorn  was  forthwith  called  to  answer  before  the 
Council  at  Fort  Amsterdam,  when  he  pleaded  his  patroon^s  authority. 
Van  der  Kuygens,  the  Schout-Fiscal  (Sheriff),  also  protested  against  "  the 
lawless  transactions"  of  the  patroonh  watch-meester.  Still  the  patroonh 
agent  tried  to  justify  his  course,  "  inasmuch  as  this  step  had  been  taken 
to  keep  tlie  canker  of  free-trader 8  off  his  colonies.  Nevertheless,  he  was 
fined,  and  forbidden  to  repeat  his  offence. 

At  length  the  pitiable  condition  of  the  New  Netherland  colony 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  Dutch  Government.  Its  originators,  as 
before  mentioned,  had  become  nearly,  if  not  entirely,  bankrupt. 

To  use  their  own  official  words,  "  the  long-look ed-for  profits  thence" 
had  never  arrived,  and  they  themselves  had  no  means  to  relieve  "  the 
poor  inhabitants  who  have  left  their  Fatherland;''''  accordingly,  the  bank- 
rupt Company  urged  the  "  States- General  "  for  a  subsidy  of  1,000,000  of 
guilders  to  place  the  Dutch  province  in  good,  prosperous,  and  profitable 
order. 

This  body  directed  observations  to  be  made  into  the  affairs  of  New 
Netherland,  and  also  into  the  propriety  of  restricting  its  internal  trade  ta 
residents,  with  the  policy  of  opening  a  free  one  between  Brazil  and  Man- 
hattan. Upon  making  this  investigation,,  it  was  found  that  New  Nether- 
land, instead  of  becoming  a  source  of  commercial  profit  to  the  Company, 
had  absolutely  cost  that  body,  from  the  year  1626  to  1644,  "  over  550,000 
guilders,  deducting  returns  received  from  there."  Still,  "  the  Company 
cannot  decently  or  consistently  abandon  it."  The  Director's  salary,  the 
report  continues,  should  be  3,000  guilders,  and  the  whole  civil  and  mili- 
tary establishment  of  New  Netherland  20,000  guilders.  As  many  African 
negroes,  it  thought,  should  be  brought  from  Brazil  as  the  patroons,  farmers, 
and  settlers  "  would  be  willing  to  pay  for  at  a  fair  price."  It  would  thus 
appear  that  our  Dutch  forefathers  had  something  to  do  with  the  slave 
trade,  as  well  as  the  Southern  colonies.  Free  grants  of  land  should  be 
offered  to  all  emigrants  on  Manhattan  Island ;  a  trade  allowed  to  Brazil 


27 

and  the  fisheries ;  the  manufacture  and  exportation  of  salt  should  be 
encouraged,  and  the  duties  of  the  revenue  officers  "  be  sharply  attended 
to."  Such  was  the  business  condition  of  New  Netherland  in  the  year  1645. 
The  five  previous  years  of  Indian  wars  had  hardly  known  five  months 
of  peace  and  prosperity.  Kieft,  perceiving  his  former  errors,  now  con- 
cluded a  treaty  of  amity  with  the  Indians,  August  BO,  1645.  In  two 
years,  not  less  than  1,600  savages  had  been  killed  at  Manhattan  and  its 
neighborhood,  and  scarcely  one  hundred  could  be  found  besides  traders. 

The  insufficient  condition  of  the  fort  as  a  place  of  defense  became  the 
subject  of  serious  consideration  after  this  war,  and  the  authorities  in  Hol- 
land, listening  to  the  importunities  of  the  colonists,  gave  directions  for  its. 
improvement,  requiring,  however,  that  the  people  should  contribute,  to 
some  extent,  towards  the  labor  and  expense  involved.  In  1647,  the  sub- 
ject was  discussed  in  the  Council  of  the  Director- General,  and  a  resolution 
was  passed  that  the  fort  should  be  repaired  with  stone  laid  in  mortar, 
"  by  which  means  alone,"  it  was  stated,  "  a  lasting  work  could  be  made," 
inasmuch  as  the  earth  to  be  procured  in  the  neighborhood  was  entirely 
unfit  to  make  it  stable  with  sods,  unless  it  were  annually  renewed,  nearly 
at  the  same  expense  ;  and  as  this  project  required  a  considerable  disburse- 
ment for  labor  in  carrying  the  stone,  etc.,  it  was  found  expedient  to 
consult  the  inhabitants,  to  learn  the  extent  to  which  assistance  would  be 
afi'orded  by  them.  In  communicating  their  resolve  to  the  people,  the 
authorities  referred  to  "  this  glorious  work,  which  must  increase  the 
respect  for  the  Government,  as  weU  as  afford  a  safe  retreat  to  the  inhab- 
itants in  case  of  danger."  The  suggestion  was,  that  every  male  inhabitant, 
between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty  years,  should  devote,  annually,  twelve 
days'  labor,  or,  in  lieu  thereof,  contribute  for  each  day  two  guilders 
(eighty  cents).  But  the  project  was  found  too  expensive  for  the  means 
at  hand,  and  the  completion  of  the  work  with  stone  was  abandoned  for 
the  time,  the  work  being  repaired  with  earth,  as  before.  Nor  does  it  appear 
that  it  was,  as  yet,  protected  by  an  inclosure  from  the  inroads  of  the 
vagrant  cattle,  as  the  Director  is  found,  from  time  to  time,  expostulating 
with  the  city  authorities  against  permitting  swine,  goats,  and  other  animals, 
to  run  at  large  in  the  town,  from  which  great  destruction  to  the  works  of 
the  fortress  ensued.* 

Soon  alter  the  peace,  in  1647,  Kieft,  having  been  recalled,  embarked 
for  Holland,  carrying  with  him  specimens  of  New  Netherland  minerals 

*  This  matter  came  to  be  considered  of  so  great  importance,  that,  in  1656,  Governor 
Stuyvesant  again  communicated  with  the  Holland  authorities  respecting  the  improve- 
ment of  the  fort,  and  received  from  them  a  favorable  response,  stating  that  they  had 
no  objection  to  have  the  fort  surrounded  with  a  stone-wall,  and  were  willing,  in  the 
ensuing  spring,  to  send  "  a  few  good  masons  and  carpenters  to  assist  in  the  work," 
enjoining  the  Grovernor,  in  the  meanwhile,  to  have  the  necessary  materials  prepared 
and  in  readiness  when  the  mechanics  should  arrive. —  Valentine^ 8  Manual. 


28 

(gathered  by  the  Earitan  Indians  in  the  Neversink  Hills),  and  a  fortune, 
which  his  enemies  estimated  at  400,000  guilders.  Dominie  Bogardus 
and  Van  der  Kuygens,  late  Fiscal,  were  fellow-passengers  in  the  richly- 
laden  vessel.  By  mistake,  the  ship  was  navigated  into  the  English 
Channel ;  was  wrecked  upon  the  rugged  coast  of  Wales,  and  went  to 
pieces.  Kieft,  with  eighty  other  persons,  including  Bogardus  and  the 
Fiscal,  were  lost ;  only  twenty  were  saved.  Melyn,  the  patroon  of  Staten 
Island,  floating  on  his  back,  landed  on  a  sand-bank,  and  thence  reached 
the  main-land  in  safety. 

On   the   11th  of  May,    1647,  Governor  Stuyvesant,  as  ^'redresser- 
general"  of  all  the  colonial  abuses,  arrived  at  Manhattan,  to  enter  upon 
an  administration  which  was  to  last  until  the  end  of  the  Dutch  power 
over  New  Netherland.     Well  might  the  new  Governor  write  home  that 
he  "  found  the  colony  in  a  low  condition.''     Disorder  and  discontent  were 
everywhere  apparent ;  the  public  revenue  was  in  arrears,  and  smuggling 
had  nearly  ruined  legitimate  trade.     Such  were  the  auspices — sufficiently 
gloomy — under  which  the  last  of  the  Dutch  Goyernors  entered  upon  his 
administration.     Far  from  despairing,  however,  the  sturdy  Dutchman  put 
his  shoulder  at  once  to  the  wheel.     Publicans  were  restrained  from  sell- 
ing Hquor  before  two  o'clock  on  Sundays,  "  when  there  is  no  preaching," 
and  after  nine  in  the  evening ;  to  the  savages,  none  was  to  be  sold.*     The 
revenue,  greatly  defrauded  by  smuggling  furs  into  New  England  and 
Virginia,  for  shipment  to  England,  was  now  to  be  guarded  by  stringent 
laws.     The  introduction  of  foreign  merchandise  by  vessels  running  past 
Fort  Amsterdam  during  the  night,  was  also  to  be  stopped ;  all  vessels 
were  obliged  to  anchor  under  the  guns  of  the  fort,  near  the  present  Bat- 
tery.    For  the  purpose  of  replenishing  the  treasury,  an  excise  duty  was 
now,  for  the  first  time,  levied  on  wines  and  liquors ;  the  export  duties  on 
peltry  also  increased ;    and   the  unpaid  tenths  from  the  impoverished 
farmers  were  called  in,  although  a  year's  grace  was  allowed  for  payment, 
in  consequence  of  the  losses  by  the  Indian  wars ;  and,  in  addition  to  all 
this,  two  of  the  Company's  yachts,  still  further  to  increase  the  revenue, 
were  sent  on  a  cruise  to  the  West  Indies,  to  capture,  if  possible,  some  of 
the  richly-laden  Spanish  vessels  returning  to  Spain. 

Stuyvesant  also,  seems  to  have  been  the  first  Governor  who  took 
pride  in  improving  the  town  itself.  He  found  the  infant  city  very  unat- 
tractive— fences  straggling,  cattle  running  around  loose,  the  pubUc  ways 
crooked — many  of  them  encroaching  on  the  lines  of  the  street,  and  half 
the  houses  in  a  "  tumble-down"  condition.  All  these  evils  he  at  once  set 
about  to  remedy ;  and  one  of  his  earliest  acts  was  to  appoint  the  first 
"  Surveyors  of  Buildings,"  whose  duties  were  to  regulate  the  erection  of 
new  houses  in  New  Amsterdam. 


*  It  thus  appears  that  the  Dutch  themselves  first  introduced  the  excise  law ; 
they  should  not,  therefore,  complain  so  bitterly  of  the  one  now  (1868)  in  operation  ! 


29 

The  Dutch  Company  "  now  resolved  to  open  to  private  persons  the 
trade  which  it  had  exclusively  carried  on  with  New  Netherland,  the 
Virginia,  the  Swedish,  English,  and  French  colonies,  or  other  places 
thereabout;"  and  the  new  Director  and  Council  were  ordered  to  be  vigilant 
in  enforcing  all  colonial  custom-house  regulations.  All  cargoes  to  New 
Netherland  were  to  be  examined,  on  arrival,  by  the  custom-house  officers, 
and  all  who  were  homeward-bound  were  to  give  bonds  for  the  payment 
of  duties  in  Holland.  Nor  was  it  long  before  Stuyvesant  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  showing  his  zeal.  The  St.  Benicio,  an  Amsterdam  ship,  was 
found  trading  at  New  Haven,  without  the  license  of  the  West  India 
Company ;  but  the  owners  of  the  cargo  applied  for  permission  to  trade  at 
Manhattan,  upon  the  payment  of  the  proper  duties.  This  permit  obtained, 
Stuyvesant  learned  that  the  ship  was  about  to  sail  directly  to  Virginia, 
without  any  manifest  or  duties  paid.  The  case  having  thus  assumed  an 
open  violation  of  the  colonial  revenue  laws,  the  Governor  embarked  a 
company  of  soldiers,  who,  sailing  up  the  sound,  captured  the  smuggler 
in  New  Haven  harbor.  This  bold  act  naturally  produced  a  great  sensa- 
tion ;  and  Eaton,  the  Governor  of  the  New  Haven  Colony,  protested 
against  Stuyvesant,  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace.  In  reply,  Stuyvesant 
claimed  all  the  region  from  Cape  Henlopea  to  Cape  Cod,  as  a  part  of 
New  Netherland,  with  the  right  to  levy  duty  upon  all  Dutch  vessels  trad- 
ing at  New  Haven.  A  sharp  correspondence  ensued  between  the"  State 
Right"  parties,  which  resulted  in  the  Dutch  Governor  issuing  a  pro- 
clamation, which  declared :  ''  If  any  person,  noble  or  ignoble,  freeman  or 
slave,  debtor  or  creditor — yea,  to  the  lowest  prisoner  included,  run  away 
from  New  Haven,  or  seek  refuge  in  our  limits,  he  shall  remain  free,  under 
our  protection,  on  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance."  The  Dutch  colonists, 
however,  objected  to  this  unwise,  measure,  as  tending  to  change  their 
province  into  a  refuge  for  vagabonds  from  the  neighboring  English  settle- 
ments, and  the  obnoxious  proclamation  was  thereupon  revoked. 

About  this  period,  1648,  it  became  necessary  to  regulate  the  taverns, 
as  almost  one-fourth  part  of  the  town  of  New  Amsterdam  had  beome 
houses  for  the  sale  6f  brandy,  tobacco,  or  beer.  No  new  taverns,  it  was 
ordained,  should  be  licensed,  except  by  unanimous  consent  of  the  Director 
and  his  Council ;  and  those  established  might  continue  four  years  longer, 
if  their  owners  would  abstain  from  selling  to  the  savages,  report  all 
brawls,  and  occupy  decent  houses — "  to  adorn  the  town  of  New  Amster- 
dam." Notwithstanding,  however,  all  these  precautions,  the  Indians 
were  daily  seen  "  running  about  drunk  through  the  Manhattans."  New 
York,  now  the  metropolitan  city,  witnesses  every  day  and  night  crowds 
of  such  drunken  savages  in  her  streets ;  and  it  would  almost  seem  that 
our  wise  legislators  have  not  wisdom  or  strength  enough  to  frame  laws 
to  subdue  or  prevent  this  public  evil  of  all  evils.  At  last,  at  New  Amster- 
dam, in  addition  to  the  former  penalties,  offenders  against  the  temper- 


30 

ance  laws  were  now  "  to  be  arbitrarily  punished,  without  any  dissimula- 
tion." 

In  the  year  1648,  no  person  was  allowed  to  carry  on  business,  ex- 
cept he  was  a  permanent  resident,  and  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance, 
was  worth  from  two  thousand  to  three  thousand  guilders,  at  least,  and 
intended  to  "  keep  fire  and  light  in  the  province."  This  was  an  early 
expression  of  permanent  residence  in  the  Dutch  province.  Old  residents, 
however,  not  possessing  the  full  trading  qualifications,  were  allowed  the 
same  privilege,  provided  they  remained  in  the  province,  and  used  only 
the  weights  and  measures  of  ''  Old  Amsterdam,"  and  "to  which  we  owe 
our  name."  Scotch  merchants  and  peddlers  were  not  forgotten  in  these 
business  arrangements,  for  it  was  also  ordained  that  "  all  Scotch  mer- 
chants and  small  dealers,  who  come  over  from  their  own  country  with 
the  intention  of  trading  here,"  should  "  not  be  permitted  to  carry  on  any 
trade  in  the  land"  until  they  had  resided  here  three  years.  They  were 
also  required  to  build  a  "  decent,  habitable  tenement"  one  year  after  their 
arrival.  Every  Monday  was  to  be  a  market-day,  and,  in  imitation  of 
fatherland^  an  annual  '"  keemis,"  or  fair,  for  ten  days,  was  established, 
commencing  on  Monday  after  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  at  which  all  per- 
sons could  sell  goods  from  their  tents.  The  trade  on  the  North  and  the 
South  Rivers  was  reserved  for  citizens  having  the  requisite  qualifications. 
It  was  declared,  however,  that  the  East  E-iver  should  be  "  free  and  open 
to  any  one,  no  matter  to  what  nation  he  may  belong."  All  vessels  under 
fifty  tons  were  to  anchor  between  the  Capsey  "  Hoeck"  (which  divided 
the  East  and  North  rivers)  and  the  "hand,"  or  guide-board,  near  the 
present  Battery.  No  freight  was  to  be  landed,  nor  any  boats  to  leave  the 
vessels  from  sunset  to  sunrise.  These  regulations  were  strictly  enforced, 
and  the  high  customs  duties  exacted  from  the  colonists  amounted  to 
almost  thirty  per  cent.,  "  besides  waste."  "  The  avidity  of  the  Director 
to  confiscate,"  says  an  old  account,  "  was  a  vulture,  destroying  the  prop- 
erty of  New  Netherland,  diverting  its  trade,  and  making  the  people 
discontented."  This  "  bad  report"  spread  among  the  English,  north  and 
south,  and  even  reached  the  West  India  and  Caribee  Islands.  Boston 
traders  declared  that  more  than  twenty-five  vessels  would  every  year 
reach  Manhattan  from  those  Islands,  "  if  the  owners  were  not  fearful  of 
confiscation."  Not  a  ship  now  dared  come  from  these  places.  Difficulties 
constantly  arising  between  the  authorities  of  the  fatherland  and  New 
Netherland,  the  "  Presiding  Chamber"  now  plainly  perceived  that  they 
must  make  concessions,  or  lose  all  control  over  their  distant  colony. 
Accordingly,  the  "  Commonalty  of  Manhattan"  was  informed  that  the 
Amsterdam  Directors  had  determined  to  abolish  the  export  duty  on 
tobacco,  to  reduce  the  price  of  tobacco,  and  to  allow  the  colonists  to  pur- 
chase negroes  from  Africa — all  this  being  designed  to  show  their  "  good 
intentions."     They  also  informed  Governor  Stuyvesant  of  their  assent  to 


31 

a  "  burgher  governinent"  in  Manhattan,  which  should  approach  as  nearly 
as  possible  to  the  custom  of  "  the  metropolis  of  Holland."  At  the  time 
that  the  colonists  had  obtained  this  concession  (1652)  of  the  long-desired 
burgher  government,  New  Amsterdam  numbered  a  population  of  seven 
hundred  or  eight  hundred  souls. 

At  last,  a  naval  war,  long  brewing,  broke  out  between  England  and 
the  United  Provinces,  and,  without  warning,  Dutch  ships  were  arrested 
in  English  ports,  and  the  crews  impressed.  Martin  Harpertsen  Tromp 
commanded  the  Dutch  fleet.  His  name  has  no  prefix  of  ''  Van,''  as  many- 
writers  insist.  Bancroft  and  Broadhead  are  among  the  few  who  have 
not  adopted  the  common  error.  The  Dutch  Admiral  was  no  more  "Van 
Tromp"  than  the  English  was  "Van  Blake,"  or  our  brave  American 
''Van  Earragut."  Tromp,  in  a  few  days,  met  the  British  fleet,  under 
Admiral  Blake,  in  Dover  Straits,  and  a  bloody  but  indecisive  fight  fol- 
lowed. Brilhant  naval  engagements  ensued,  in  which  Tromp  and  De 
Ruyter,  with  Blake  and  Ayscue,  immortalized  themselves.  But  the  first 
year  of  hostilities  closing  with  a  victory,  Blake  sought  refuge  in  the 
Thames,  when  the  Dutch  commander  placed  a  broom  at  his  masthead — an 
emblem  or  token  that  he  had  swept  the  British  Channel  free  from  British 
ships.  These  hostilities  between  Holland  and  England  encouraged 
pirates  and  robbers  to  infest  the  shores  of  the  East  River,  and  perpetrate 
excesses  on  Long  Island  and  the  neighborhood  of  New  Amsterdam. 
Several  yachts  were  immediately  commissioned  to  act  against  the  pirates. 
A  reward  of  one  hundred  thalers  was  ofl'ered  for  each  of  the  outlaws,  and 
a  proclamation  issued  prohibiting  all  persons  from  harborijig  them,  under 
the  penalty  of  banishment  and  the  confiscation  of  their  goods.  Eorces 
had  even  been  collected  to  act  against  New  Netherland,  but  the  joyful 
intelligence  of  peace  sent  them  to  dislodge  the  French  from  the  coast  of 
Maine ;  and  thus,  for  ten  years  longer,  the  coveted  Dutch- American 
province  continued  under  the  sway  of  Holland.  The  peace  was  pub- 
lished "in  the  ringing  of  bell"  from  the  City  Hall,  and  the  12th  of 
August,  1654,  appointed,  piously,  by  Stuyvesant,  as  a  day  of  general 
thanksgiving.        • 

During  the  same  month,  1654,  Le  Moyne,  a  Jesuit  father  and  mis- 
sionary to  the  Indians,  immortalized  his  name  by  a  discovery  which 
afterward  formed  one  of  the  largest  sources  of  wealth  in  our  State. 
Reaching  the  entrance  of  a  small  lake,  filled  with  salmon-trout  and  other 
fish,  he  tasted  the  water  of  a  spring,  which  his  Indian  guides  were  afraid 
to  drink,  saying  that  there  was  a  demon  in  them  which  rendered  it 
offensive.  But  the  Jesuit  had  discovered  "  a  fountain  of  salt-water," 
from  which  he  actually  made  salt  as  natural  as  that  of  the  sea.  Taking 
a  sample,  he  descended  the  Oneida,  passed  over  Ontario  and  the  St.  Law- 
rence, and  safely  reached  Quebec  with  the  intelligence  of  his  wonderful 
■discovery.  To  the  State  of  New  York  it  has  sine  3  been  more  valuable 
than  a  mine  of  silver  or  gold. 


32 

During  the  year  1654,  the  Swedish  and  the  Casimir  colonists  on  the 
Delaware  had  taken  the  Dutch  fort  there  ;  soon  after,  Stuyvesant  had  an 
opportunity  of  retaking  the  Golden  Shark,  a  Swedish  ship,  bound  to  South 
E-iver,  which,  by  mistake,  entered  Sandy  Hook,  and  anchored  behind 
Staten  Island.  His  error  discovered,* the  captain  sent  a  boat  to  Manhat- 
tan for  a  pilot,  when  the  Governor  ordered  the  crew  to  the  guard-house, 
and  dispatched  soldiers  to  seize  the  vessel.  The  Shark^s  cargo  was 
removed  to  the  Company's  magazine,  until  a  reciprocal  restitution  should 
have  been  made.  The  Swedish  agent  sent  a  long  protest  to  Governor 
Stuyvesant,  complaining  of  his  conduct. 

In  the  year  1656,  there  were  in  New  Amsterdam  one  hundred  and 
twenty  houses  and  one  thousand  souls.  A  proclamation  now  forbid  the 
removal  of  any  crops  in  the  town  or  colony,  until  the  Company's  tithes, 
had  been  paid.  The  authorities  of  Hensselaerswyck  refusing  to  publish 
this  notice,  the  tapsters  were  sent  down  to  New  Amsterdam,  pleading 
that  they  acted   under  the  orders  of  their  feudal  officers.     This  defense 

was  ovGrriiled,  and    on©    fined    t-vvo    hundred    pounds,  and    another    eight 

hundred  guilders. 

The  cities  of  Holland,  for  along  time,  had  enjoyed  certain  municipal 
privileges,  caUed  ''great"  and  "  small''  burgher  rights.  In  Amsterdam, 
all  who  paid  five  hundred  guilders  were  enrolled  "great  burghers,"  and 
they  monopolized  all  the  offices,  and  were  also  exempt  from  attainder  and 
confiscation  of  goods.  The  "  small  burghers"  paid  fifty  guilders  for  the 
honors,  and  had  the  freedom  of  trade  only.  This  burghership  became 
hereditary  in  Holland,  and  could  pass,  by  marriage,  and  be  acquired  by 
females  as  well  as  by  males.  Foreigners,  after  a  year's  probation,  could 
also  become  burghers  ;  and  the  burghers  were  generally  the  merchants 
and  tradesmen.  The  various  trades  and  professions  formed  separate 
associations,  or  ^^  guilds ^^^  and  their  members  were  bound  to  assist  each 
other  in  distress  or  danger.  In  fatherland,  each  guild  'generally  inhab- 
ited a  separate  quarter  of  the  town,  was  organized  as  a  military  company, 
and  fought  under  its  own  standard,  having  its  own  "deltken,"or  dean. 

In  the  year  1657,  "in  conformity  to  the  laudable  custom  of  the  City 
of  Amsterdam  in  Europe,"  this  great  burgher  right  was  introduced  into 
New  Amsterdam.  This  was  an  absurd  imitation  of  an  invidious  policy, 
and  the  mother  city  herself  was  soon  obliged  to  abandon  it,  notwithstand- 
ing Governor  Stuyvesant  attempted  to  establish  in  New  Amsterdam  this 
most  offensive  of  all  distinctions — an  aristocracy  founded  on  a  class,  or 
mere  wealth. 

In  Mr  Paulding's  "  Affairs  and  Men  of  New  Amsterdam  in  the  Time 
of  Governor  Peter  Stuyvesant,"   we  find  a  list  of  the  recorded  Great 


33 

Citizenship,  in  the  year  1657.  As  a  rare  matter  of  the  olden  time,  it  is 
here  given  entire  : 

Joh.  La  Montagnie,  Junior,  Jan  Gillesen  Van  Burggh,  Hendrick 
Kip,  De  Heer  General  Stuyvesant,  Dominie  Megapolensis,  Jacob  Gerritsen 
Strycker,  Jan  Virge,  The  wife  of  Cornells  Van  Teinhoven,  Hendrick  Van 
Dyck,  Hendrick  Kip,  Junior,  Capt.  Martin  Crigier,  Carel  Van  Burggh, 
Jacob  Van  Couwenhoven,  Laurisen  Cornehsen  Van  Wei,  Johannes 
Pietersen  Van  Burggh,  CorneHs  Steenwyck,  Wilb.  Bogardus,  Daniel 
Litschoe,  Pieter  Van  Couwenhoven. 

These  twenty  names  composed  the  aristocracy  of  New  York  two 
hundred  and  nine  years  ago,  when  umbrellas  and  carriages  were  unknown. 
In  our  Pifth-A venue-day  of  stocks,  petroleum,  and  "  shoddy,"  happy  is 
the  man  who  can  possibly  trace  his  pedigree  to  this  pure,  unadulterated 
Dutch-blooded  stock  ! 

We  have  also  before  us  the  names  of  the  "  small"  citizenship,  which 
number  two  hundred  and  sixteen.  In  a  few  short  years  it  was  found 
that  this  division  of  the  citizens  into  two  classes  produced  great  incon- 
venience, in  consequence  of  the  very  small  number  of  great  burghers  who 
were  eligible  to  office.  It  now  became  necessary  for  the  Government  to 
change  this  unpopular  order.  The  heavy  fee  to  obtain  it  frightened  most 
foreigners  away,  so  that  it  \^s  purchased  but  once  during  a  period  of  six- 
teen years.  In  the  year  1668,  the  difference  between  "  great "  and  "  small " 
burghers  was  aboKshed,  when  every  burgher  became  legally  entitled  to  all 
-burgher  privileges. 

During  the  year  1659,  it  was  discovered  that  the  Dutch  colony  had 
as  yet  produced  no  returns,  and  was  already  seven  thousand  guilders 
in  arrears.  It  was  therefore  determined  that,  to  prevent  further  loss, 
such  colonists  only  as  had  left  Holland  before  December,  1658,  should  be 
supplied  with  provisions.  Goods  were  to  be  sold  only  for  cash,  and 
exemptions  from  tithes  and  taxes  were  to  cease  several  years  before  the 
original  stipulated  period,  and  merchandise  thereafter  was  to  be  con- 
signed to  the  City  of  Amsterdam  exclusively.  The  colonists  remonstrated 
against  this  new  restriction  of  trade,  which  had  the  appearance  of  gross 
slavery,  and  of  fettering  the  free  prospects  of  a  worthy  people.  This 
remonstrance  was  well-timed,  and  the  City  Council  consented  that  all  the 
traders  on  the  South  Piver  might  export  all  goods,  except  peltry,  to 
any  place  they  wished. 

In  the  year  1660,  a  second  survey  and  map  of  New  Amsterdam  was 
made  by  Jacques  Cortelyou,  and  the  city  was  found  to  contain  three  hund- 
red and  fifty  houses.  It  was  sent  to  the  Amsterdam  Chamber,  in  case 
it  should  be  thought  "  good  to  make  it  more  pubhc  by  having  it  engraved." 
This  early  map  has  probably  been  lost. 

The  restoration  of  Charles  the  Second,  in  1661,  did  not  produce  in 
England  more  friendly  feehngs  towards  the  Dutch ;  and  the  two  nations 
3 


34 

now  became  commercial  rivals.  The  Act  of  Navigation  had  already 
closed  the  ports  of  New  England,  Virginia,  and  Maryland,  against  Hol- 
land and  its  Colony  of  New  Netherland.  Such  at  that  time  was  the 
narrow  spirit  of  British  statesmen ;  and  many  Independents  and  Dissenters 
desired  to  seek  new  homes,'  where  they  would  be  alike  free  from  mon- 
archy, prelacy,  and  British  rule. 

Nor  were  these  considerations  overlooked  in  Holland.  The  West 
India  Company  now  determined  to  invite  emigration  to  New  Netherland 
by  larger  inducements ;  accordingly,  a  new  charter  was  drawn  up,  which 
granted  to  "  all  such  people  as  shall  be  disposed  to  take  up  their  abode 
in  those  parts,"  fifteen  leagues  of  land  along  the  sea-coast,  "  and  as  far  in 
depth  in  the  continent  as  any  plantation  hath,  or  may  be,  settled  in  New 
Netherland."'  Emigrants  were  also  to  have  "high,  middle,  and  low 
jurisdiction,''  "  freedom  from  head-money  "  for  twenty  years,  property  in 
mines,  freedom  for  ten  years  from  taxes,  the  right  to  use  their  own  ships, 
and  freedom  in  the  fishing  trade.  "  Therefore,''  added  the  Company,  "  if 
any  of  the  English,  good  Christians,  who  may  be  assured  of  the  advantage 
to  mankind  of  plantations  in  these  latitudes  to  others  more  southerly,  and 
shall  rationally  be  disposed  to  transport  themselves  to  the  said  place, 
under  the  conduct  of  the  United  Provinces,  they  shaU  have  full  liberty  to 
live  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  upon  the  aforesaid  good  conditions,  and  shall 
be  Hkewise  courteously  used.''  A  proper  act,  under  seal  of  the  Company, 
was  issued  at  the  Hague,  which  granted  to  ''  all  Christian  people  of  tender 
conscience,  in  England  or  elsewhere  oppressed,  full  Hberty  to  erect  a 
colony  in  the  West  Indies,  between  New  England  and  Virginia,  in 
America,  now  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Peter  Stuyvesant,  the  States- 
General  Governor  for  the  West  India  Company."  How  many  "  Christian 
people  of  tender  conscience"  avaih^l  themselves  of  these  advantageous 
offers,  .does  not  appear  ;  but  the  metropolis  prospered.  A  better  currency 
was  now  found  to  be  indispensable,  and  the  burgomasters  wrote  to  Hol- 
land for  authority  to  establish  a  mint  for  the  coinage  of  silver,  and  to 
constitute  wampum  (needed  for  trade  with  the  savages)  an  article  of  sale. 
But  the  Amsterdam  Directors  refused  to  grant  this  improvement  of  the 
colonial  currency. 

A  number  of  breweries,  brick-kilns,  and  otlier  manufactories,  carried 
on  a  successful  business  ;  and  the  potteries  on  Long  Island,  some  persons 
esteemed  equal  to  those  of  Delft.  Dirck  De  Wolf  having  obtained  from  the 
Amsterdam  Chamber,  in  1661,  the  exclusive  privilege  of  making  salt 
for  seven  years  in  New  Netherland,  began  its  manufacture  upon  Coney 
Island ;  but  the  Gravesend  settlers,  who  claimed  the  spot,  arrested  the 
enterprise  ;  and  this,  too,  notwithstanding  Governor  Stuyvesant  sent  a 
military  guard  to  protect  him. 

In  the  year  1664,  the  population  of  New  Netherland  had  increased 
to  "  full  ten  thf)usand,"  and  New  Amsterdam  contained  one  thousand  five 


hundred,  and  wore  an  appearance  of  great  prosperity.  English  jealousy 
e-vddently  increased  with  the  augmenting  commerce  of  the  Dutch.  James, 
Duke  of  York,  was  the  King's  brother,  and  also  the  Governor  of  the 
African  Company,  and  he  denounced  the  Dutch  West  India  Company, 
which  had  endeavored  to  secure  the  territory  on  the  Gold  Coast  from 
English  speculators  and  intruders.  England  now  resolved  to  march  a 
step  farther,  and.  at  one  blow,  to  rob  Holland  of  her  Ameiican  province. 
The  King  granted  a  sealed  patent  to  the  Duke  of  York  for  a  large  terri- 
tory in  America,  including  Long  Island,  and  all  lands  and  rivers  from 
the  west  side  of  the  Connecticut  to '  the  east  side  of  the  Delaware  Bay. 
This  sweeping  grant  embraced  the  whole  of  New  Netherland. 

The  Duke  of  York,  that  he  might  lose  no  time  in  securing  his 
patent,  dispatched  Captain  Scott,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  followers, 
to  visit  the  Island  of  Manhattan,  the  value  of  which  was  now 
estimated  at  three  thousand  pounds.  On  the  11th  of  January, 
1664,  the  valorous  Scott  made  his  appearance  at  "  Breuclen " 
Ferry  Landing,  and.  with  a  great  flourish  of  trumpets,  demanded 
submission  to  the  English  flag.  Governor  Stuyvesant,  dispatching 
his  Secretary,  politely  asked  Captain  Scott,  "  Will  you  come  across 
the  river  ?''  and  the  reply  was.  "  No ;  let  Stuyvesant  come  over  with  one 
hundred  soldiers  ;  I  will  wait  for  him  here  !"  "  What  for  ?"  demanded 
the  Secretary.  "  I  would  run  him  through  the  body  !"  was  the  Captain's 
courteous  answer.  ''  That  would  not  be  a  friendly  act,"  replied  the 
Governor's  deputy.  Thus  they  parted  ;  Scott  retiring  to  Michout  (Flat- 
bush)  with  his  forces,  with  drums  beating  and  colors  flying,  while  the 
people '"  looked  on  M'ith  wonder,  not  knowing  what  it  meant."  Scott  told 
them  that  they  must  abandon  their  allegiance  to  the  Dutch,  and  promised  to 
confer  with  Governor  Stuyvesant.  But  when  he  reached  the  river,  on  his 
way  to  New  Amsterdam  for  this  purpose,  he  decHned  crossing  it.  StiE 
he  felt  very  brave,  threatening  to  go  over,  proclaim  the  English  King  at 
the  Manhattans,  and  "  rip  the  guts,  and  cut  the  feet  from  under  any  man 
who  says,  '  This  is  not  the  King's  land.' ''  This  was,  certainly,  very 
bloodthirsty  ;  but  the  good  people  of  Manhattan  all  escaped  with  whole 
feet  and  bowels.  The  vaHant  Captain  then  marched  to  New  Utrecht ; 
ordered  the  only  gun  of  which  the  block-house  boasted  to  be  fired  in 
the  King's  honor  ;  and  continued  his  triumphant  march  to  Amersfort,  for 
another  bloodless  victory. 

Governor  Stuyvesant  now'  ordered  a  new  commission  to  confer  with 
Captain  Scott,  at  Jamaica,  and  Cornells  Steenwyck* — one  of  the  fathers 
of  New  Amsterdam,  residing  on  his  farm  at  Harlem — was  one  of  the 
commission.  It  was  here  agreed  that  the  English  captain  should  he]?e- 
after  desist   from  disturbing  the  Dutch    towns.      The  latter,  however, 

*  There  is  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Steenwyck  in  the  collection  of  the  N.  Y.  His.  Soc. 


86 

insisted  that  the  basis  of  future  negotiations  should  recognize  Long 
Island  as  belonging  to  Great  Britain.  He  also  hinted  that  the  Duke  of 
York  intended  to  reduce,  in  time,  the  whole  proA^nce  of  New  Nether- 
land — a  declaration  which  was  to  prove  true  sooner  than  the  Dutch 
Oovernor  anticipated. 

In  September  of  the  same  year  (1664),  Colonel  Nicholls  anchored 
before  New  Amsterdam  with  a  fleet  and  soldiers.  His  imperious  message 
to  Governor  Stuyvesant,  was  :  "  I  shall  come  with  ships  and  soldiers,  raise 
the  white  flag  of  peace  at  the  fort,  and  then  something  may  be  consid- 
ered." The  Dutch  colony  was  entirely  unprepared  for  such  a  warlike 
visit,  and  capitulated  at  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  September  8th, 
1664.  Stuyvesant,  at  the  head  of  the  garrison,  marched  out  of  the  fort 
with  the  honors  of  war.  pursuant  to  the  terms  of  the  surrender.  His 
soldiers  were  immediately  led  down  the  '''■  Sever'' s  Faatje^''  or  Beaver  Lane, 
to  the  shore  of  the  North  River,  where  they  embarked  for  Holland.  An 
EngHsh  "corporal's  guard"  immediately  entered  and  took  possession  of  the 
fort,  over  which  the  English  flag  was  at  once  hoisted.  Its  nam-e,  Fort 
Amsterdam,  was  then  changed  to  "  Fort  James,"  and  New  Amsterdam 
was  henceforth  known  as  "  New  Yoek."  This  was  a  violent  and  treach- 
erous seizure  of  territory  at  a  time  of  profound  peace — a  breach  of  private 
justice  and  public  faith ;  and  by  it,  a  great  State  had  imposed  on  it  a 
name  which  is  unknown  in  history,  save  as  it  is  connected  with  bigotry 
and  tyranny,  and  which  has  ever  been  an  enemy  of  political  and  religious 
liberty.* 

Before  following  further  the  course  of  events,  a  rapid  retrospect  of 
the  commercial  prosperity  of  New  Netherland  seems  desirable.  At  the 
period  when  Governor  Stuyvesant's  administration  waa  so  suddenly  ter- 
minated by  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  of  York's  forces,  the  population  of 
New  Netherland  was  established  at  "  full  ten  thousand."  When  New 
Amsterdam  was  first  surveyed,  in  1656,  it  contained  one  hundred  and 
twenty  houses  and  one  thousand  souls,  which  increased  to  fifteen  hund- 

*  As  the  surrender  of  Fort  Amsterdam  involved  the  loss  of  the  entire  Dutch 
possessions  in  New  Netherland,  the  conduct  of  Governor  Stuyvesant,  in  not  main- 
taining its  defense,  was  severely  criticised  by  his  superiors  in  Holland.  In  his  justi- 
fication, he  explained  that  the  fort  was  encompassed  only  by  a  slight  wall,  two  to 
three  feet  in  thickness,  backed  by  coarse  gravel,  not  above  eight,  nine,  ;"nd  ten  feet 
high,  in  some  places  ;  in  others,  higher,  according  to  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  ground. 
It  was  for  the  most  part  crowded  all  around  with  buildings,  and  better  adapted  for 
a  citadel  than  for  defense  against  an  open  enemy.  The  houses  were,  in  many 
places,  higher  than  the  walls  and  bastions,  and  ren  dered  tho?e  wholly  exposed. 
M^et  of  the  houses  had  cellars  not  eight  rods  distant  from  the  wall  of  the  fort ;  in 
some  places,  not  two  or  three  feet  distant ;  and  at  one  point  scarce  a  rod  from  the 
wall ;  so  that  whoever  should  be  master  of  the  city,  could  readily  approach  with 
scaling-ladders  from  the  adjacent  houses,  and  mount  the  walls,  which  had  neither  a 
wet  nor  a  dry  ditch. —  ValerUirie's  Manual. 


37 

red  in  1664.  Not  quite  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  these  were 
male  adults ;  and  the  rest,  women,  and  children  below  eighteen 
years  of  age.  The  same  city  now  numbers  about  a  million  of  people  I 
New  York,  on  an  average,  has  about  doubled  its  population  every  twenty- 
three  years.  Be  it  remembered  that  trade  and  commerce  became  the 
great  stimulus  of  population,  and  their  regulation  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance. The  damages  incurred  by  the  West  India  Company  duringl645-6,, 
in  Brazil,  and  estimated  at  one  hundred  tons  of  gold,  rendered  some 
measures  necessary  to  retrieve  its  condition.  Trade  with  that  country 
was  therefore  opened  in  the  year  1648  to  the  New  Netherlanders,  who 
were  permitted  to  send  thither  their  produce,  and  return  with  African 
slaves,  whose  subsequent  exportation  from  the  Dutch  Province  was  for- 
bidden. Four 'years  afterward,  the  province  obtained  the  privilege  of 
trading  to  Africa  for  slaves  and  other  articles.  In  the  same  year,  the 
monopoly  of  the  carrying  trade  between  Holland  and  this  country  (before 
in  the  hands  of  the  Amsterdam  Chamber)  was  abolished  ;  "  for  the  first 
time,"  private  vessels  were  now  entered  at  Amsterdam  ;  and  in  1659  the 
privilege  of  exporting  produce  to  France,  Spain,  Italy,  and  the  Caribbean 
Islands,  was  obtained.  Thus,  the  markets  of  the  world,  except  those  of 
the  East,  were  opened  to  New  Netherland  ships.  From  this  regulation,, 
however,  furs  alone  were  an  exception,  as  these  were  to  be  sent  exclu- 
sively to  Amsterdam. 

The  duties  were  fixed  by  the  tariff  of  1648,  at  ten  per  cent,  on  imported, 
and  fifteen  upon  exported  goods  ;  but  some  difference  existed  in  favor  of 
English  colonial  buttons,  causing  them  first  to  be  sent  to  New  England, 
and  thence  imported  into  New  Netherland  at  a  low  rate.  To  obviate 
this,  in  1651  the  duties  on  such  goods  were  raised  to  sixteen  per  cent., 
tobacco  excepted,  its  eight  per  cent,  tax  being  taken  off.  In  the  year 
1655,  the  duties  on  imports  again  were  reduced  to  ten  per  cent.,  and  in 
1659.  owing  to  the  demand  for  lead  to  be  used  in  window-frames,  this 
article  was  placed  on  the  free-list.  As  we  have  noticed,  the  industry  of 
the  Dutch  colonists  was  early  manifested  in  ship-building.  At  the  close 
of  Stuyvesant's  administration,  a  number  of  distilleries,  breweries,  and 
potasheries,  were  in  operation,  with  several  manufactories  of  tiles,  bricks, 
and  earthenware.  An  attempt  was  also  made,  in  1657,  to  introduce  the 
silk  culture;  two  years  after,  mulberry-trees  were  exported  to  Curacoa ;. 
and,  as  before  stated,  the  making  of  salt  was  attempted ;  but  the  in- 
habitants of  Gravesend,  claiming  Coney  Island  under  their  patent, 
destroyed  the  houses  and  improvements,  burnt  the  fences,  and  threatened 
to  throw  the  workmen  into  the  flames. 

Although  wampim  or  "  zeaivan^^  had  become  almost  the  exclusive 
currency  of  New  Netherlands  (1664),  still,  beaver  remained  the  standard 
of  value.  During  the  years  1651-2,  Director  Stuyvesant  tried  to  introduce 
a  specie  currency,  and  applied  to  Holland  for  twenty-five  thousand  guilders, 


38 

in  Dutch  shillings  and  four-penny  pieces,  but  the  Directors  there  disap- 
proved of  his  project.  The  people  were  thus  entirely  dependent  on  ivam- 
purn^  as  we  are  now  upon  "  greenbacks,"  and  the  value  of  wages,  prop- 
erty, and  every  commodity,  was,  in  consequence,  seriously  disturbed.  So 
it  is  in  this  day,  and  ever  will  be,  with  an  irredeemable  currency,  whether 
of  clam-shells,  thin  paper,  or  anything  else,  not  equal  to  specie.  At  first 
wampum  passed  at  the  rate  of  four  black  beads  for  one  stiver ;  next,  it 
was  lowered  to  six,  and  in  1657  to  eight,  and  then  ordered  to  be  consid- 
ered a  tender  for  gold  and  silver.  To  a  similar  level  our  wiseacre  finan- 
ciers would  now  reduce  our  paper-money.  But  Stuyvesant  wisely 
objected,  as  it  would  bring  the  value  of  property  to  naught.  In  the  year 
1659,  the  white  wampum  was  next  reduced  from  twelve  to  sixteen,  and 
the  black  from  six  to  eight  for  a  stiver.  What  was  the  result  ? 
The  holder  was  obliged  to  give  more  wampum  for  any  article  he  pur- 
chased of  the  trader,  who,  in  return,  allowed  the  natives  a  large  quantity 
of  it  for  his  beavers  and  skins;  and,  to  use  the  plain  record  of  the  day, 
"  little  or  no  benefit  accrued."  Nominally,  prices  advanced,  when  beavers 
which  had  sold  for  twelve  and  fourteen  (guilders)  rose  to  twenty-two  and 
twenty-four,  bread  from  fourteen  to  twenty-two  stivers — eight-pound 
loafs — beef  nine  to  ten  stivers  per  pound,  pork  fifteen  to  twenty  stivers, 
shoes  from  three  and  a  half  guilders  to  twelve  a  pair,  and  wrought-iron 
from  eighteen  to  twenty  stivers  the  pound.  Beavers  and  specie  remained 
all  the  while  of  equal  value  ;  but  the  difference  between  these  and 
ivampum  was  fifty  per  cent.  The  effect  on  wages  was  almost  ruinous. 
An  old  record  says :  "The  poor  farmer,  laborer,  and  pubHc  officer,  being 
paid  in  zeawan^  are  almost  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  living  on  alms." 

Those  in  the  employ  of  the  Dutch  Company  asked  that  their  salaries 
might  be  paid  in  beavers,  but  this  was  refused  ;  as  well  might  public  ofii- 
cers  in  our  day  desire  to  receive  gold  and  silver  for  their  services.  This 
depreciation  of  the  currency,  and  the  consequent  disturbance  of  prices, 
caused  much  popular  clamor,  and  various  expedients  were  adopted  to 
amend  the  unfortunate  state  of  things.  The  Directors  of  New  Nether- 
land  would  have  the  colonists  consider  ivampum  as  ''  bullion,"  but  would 
only  receive  beavers  in  payment  of  duties  and  taxes.  We  adopt  some- 
thing of  the  same  theory  in  our  Custom-House  payments.  Governor 
Stuyvesant  raised  the  value  of  specie  in  the  country  twenty  fo  twenty- 
five  per  cent.  "  to  prevent  its  exportation,'^  and  our  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
has  been  striving,  after  a  fashion,  to  imitate  the  now  two-hundred-year 
time-honored  financial  example  of  the  long-lniried  old  Dutch  Governor. 
Finally,  however,  the  price  of  beaver  in  1663  fell  from  eight  guilders 
(specie)  to  four  and  a  half,  white  wampum  from  sixteen  to  eight,  black 
from  eight  to  four  for  a  stiver.  What  a  fall  I  This  was  the  state  of 
the  public  finances  when  the  English  came  in  possession  of  New  Nether- 
land.     Some  persons  are  met  with  at  the  present  time  who  fear  a  similar 


39 

financial  crash  sooner  or  later  in  our  enlightened  land  with  its  hundreds 
of  millions  in  paper-money  operations  and  promises. 

The  pubhc  revenue  in  New  Netherland  embraced  two  descriptions, 
provincial  and  municipal:  the  former  consisting  of  the  export  duty,  on  furs, 
the  impost  on  European  goods,  with  the  tenths  of  agricultural  produce,  but- 
ter, cheese,  etc. ;  the  latter  of  an  excise  duty  on  liquors  and  slaughtered  cat- 
tle. In  the  year  1655,  the  duty  on  exported  furs  is  stated  at  twenty-two 
thousand  guilders,  or  eight  thousand  dollars.  The  expenses  of  the  Gov- 
'  ernment  became  very  large,  especially  from  the  Indian  wars,  which  also 
cut  off  the  supplies  of  furs  ;  so  that  by  the  close  of  Stuyvesant's  adminis- 
tration, there  was  a  deficit  of  fifty  thousand  florins,  or  twenty  thousand 
dollars.  The  municipal  revenue  arising  from  the  liquor  excise  was  of  two 
kinds,  the  tapsters  and  the  burghers — the  first  paying  a  duty  of  four  fiorins 
a  ton  on  home-brewed,  and  six  on  foreign  beer  ;  eight  florins  a  hogshead  on 
French  ;  and  four  on  Spanish  wine,  brandy,  or  other  spirits.  These  rates 
were  doubled  in  1662.  The  income  of  New  Amsterdam  from  these 
sources  was  estimated  at  twenty-five  thousand  guilders.  The  Company 
in  Holland  had  now  expended  twelve  tons  of  gold  in  the  settlement  of 
New  Netherland  overall  the  public  receipts;  and  now  (1664),  when  some 
return  was  expected  for  this  large  outlay,  foreigners  seized  and  pos- 
sessed themselves  of  all  the  benefits  resulting  from  such  expenditures. 

We  again  resume  the  thread  of  our  narrative.  The  war  which  broke 
out  in  1672  between  the  English  and  the  Dutch,  and  which  was  chiefly 
■carried  on  by  the  navies  of  the  two  powers,  occasioned  apprehensions  for 
the  safety  of  the  Province  of  New  York ;  and  Governor  Lovelace  the  suc- 
cessor of  Nicholls.  the  first  English  Governor,  made  preparations  for  a 
demonstration  of  that  character  on  the  part  of  the  Dutch.  Nor  were  his 
fears  unfounded,  although,  some  months  elapsing  without  any  appear- 
ance of  the  enemy,  he  allowed  himself  to  fall  into  a  fatal  sense  of  security, 
and  accordingly  disbanded  the  levies,  while  he  himself  departed  on  a 
visit  to  the  Eastern  colonies,  leaving  the  fort  in  charge  of  Captain  John 
Manning.  The  Dutch,  however,  were  not  asleep  ;  nor  had  they  relin- 
quished their  design.  Determined  to  regain  New  Amsterdam,  at  all  haz- 
ards, they  fitted  out  a  fleet  of  five  ships,  commanded  by  Admirals  Benckes 
and  Evertsen,  with  Captains  Colve,,Boes,  and  Van  Zye.  On  the  29th 
of  July,  1673,  they  appeared  off  Sandy  Hook  ;  and  quietly  sailing  up  the 
bay,  and  anchoring  before  Staten  Island,  soon  appeared  opposite  the  Bat- 
tery. The  fleet  then  opened  a  heavy  cannonade  upon  the  city,  at  the  same 
time  that  Captain  Colve,  landing  with  six  hundred  men,  drew  up  in  order 
of  battle  on  the  Commons,  ready  to  march  into  the  city.  At  a  given  signal 
the  men  marched  down  Broadway,  whereupon  Captain  Manning  surren- 
dered the  fort,  on  condition  that  its  garrison  should  march  out  with  all 
the  honors  of  war.  This  condition  having  been  granted,  the  Dutch 
-troops  again  possessed  the  fort  and  city.     New  York  received  the  name 


40 

of  New  Orange,  and  the  fort  itself  the  name  of  Fort  WiHiam  Hendrick.. 
Governor  Lovelace,  who,  meanwhile,  had  hastened  back  from  his  pleasure- 
tour,  was  allowed  to  return  with  the  Dutch  Admiral  only  ;  however,  to 
receive  from  the  EngHsh  Government  a  severe  reprimand  for  cowardice 
and  treachery,  and  to  learn  that  his  estates  had  been  confiscated  to  the 
Duke  of  York. 

Captain  Colve,  now  in  command  of  the  Province  of  New  Netherlands 
received  a  commission  from  Benckes  and  Evertsen  to  govern  the  new 
territory.  His  rule,  though  brief,  was  energetic.  He  at- once  took  meas- 
ures to  improve  the  defenses  of  the  fort;  and  in  October,  1673,  we  find 
it  stated  in  one  of  his,  orders,  that  the  fortifications  had  then,  at  great 
expense  and  labor  to  the  citizens  and  inhabitants,  been  brought  "  to  per- 
fection." Anthony  De  Milt  was  appointed  Schout,  with  three  burgo- 
masters and  five  schepens.  The  entire  city  assumed  the  appearance  of 
a  military  post,  the  Commons  (the  present  park)  becoming  the  parade- 
ground.  A  wall  or  palisade  was  placed  around  it,  running  from  Trinity 
Church  along  Wall  street — hence  its  name — and  block-houses  protected 
the  settlement  on  every  side.  Every  day  the  Schout  reviewed  the  mili- 
tary, before  the  "  Stadt  Huys,"  at  the  head  of  Coenties  Slip.  At  six  in 
the  evening  he  received  the  city  keys,  and  with  a  guard  of  six  men  locked 
the  public  gates,  and  stationed  the  sentinels.  He  unlocked  the  gates  at 
sunrise.  The  city  at  this  period  numbered  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  houses. 

But  the  second  administration  of  the  Dutch  was  destined  to  be  of 
short  duration.  On  the  9th  of  February,  1674,  the  treaty  of  peace 
between  England  and  the  States-General  was  signed  at  Westminister;  and 
the  Dutch,  having  discovered  and  possessed  the  beautiful  country  of  New 
Netherlands  for  almost  sixty  years,  were  now,  once  and  forever,  dis- 
possessed of  it.  On  that  day  the  old  fort  again  became  "  Fort  James," 
having  surrendered  to  Sir  Edmund  Andrews,  who  had  been  appointed 
Governor  by  the  Duke  of  York. 

Before  closing  this  section,  and  bidding  farewell  entirely  to  New 
York  under  the  Dutch  rule,  it  seems  fitting  to  glance  somewhat  minutely^ 
at  the  social  manners  and  customs  of  our  early  Dutch  ancestors. 

The  Dutch  of  New  AmsterddSu  were  distinguished  for  their  good 
nature,  love  of  home,  and  cordial  hospitality.  Fast  young  men,  late 
hours,  and  fashionable  dissipation  were  unknown.  There  was,  neverthe- 
less, plenty  of  opportunity  for  healthful  recreation.  Holidays  were  abund- 
ant, each  family  having  some  of  its  own,  such  as  birthdays,  christenings, 
and  marriage  anniversaries.  Each  season,  too,  introduced  *  its  own 
peculiar  and  social  festivals — the  "Quilting,"  " Apple-Eaising,"  and 
"  Husking  Bees."  The  work  on  such  occasions  was  soon  finished,  after 
which  the  guests  sat  down  to  a  supper,  well  supphed  with  chocolate  and 
waffles — the  evening  terminating  with  a  merry  danee.     Dancing  was  a 


41 

favorite  amusement.  The  slaves  danced  to  the  music  of  their  rude 
instruments,  in  the  markets  ;  while  the  maidens  and  youths  practiced  the 
same  amusement  at  their  social  parties,  and  around  the  annual  May-Pole, 
on  the  "  Bowling  Green." 

Besides  such  holidays,  five  public  or  national  festivals  were  observed. 
These  were,  Kersteijdt^  or  Christmas ;  Nieuw  Jar,  or  New  Year ;  Paas^  or 
Passover;  PmUer,  Whitsuntide;  and  Santa  Clam,  St.  Nicholas,  or  Cris- 
Kinkle  Day.  The  morn  of  the  Nativity  was  hailed  with  universal  saluta- 
tions of  a  "  Merry  Christmas" — a  good  old  Knickerbocker  custom  which 
has  descended  unimpaired  to  us.  Next,  in  the  day's  programme,  came 
"Turkey  Shooting" — the  young  men  repairing  either  to  the  "Beekman 
Swamp,"  or  on  the  Common  (Park),  for  this  amusement.  Each  man 
payed  a  few  stivers*  for  a  "  chance,"  when  the  best  shot  obtained  the 
prize.  The  day  was  also  commemorated,  as  it  is  at  the  present  day,  by 
family  dinners,  and  closed  with  domestic  gayety  and  cheerfulness. 

New- Year's  Day  was  devoted  to  the  universal  interchange  of  visits. 
Every  door  in  New  Amsterdam  was  thrown  wide  open,  and  a  warm  wel- 
come extended  to  the  stranger  as  well  as  the  friend.  It  was  considered  a 
breach  of  established  etiquette  to  omit  any  acquaintance  in  these  annual 
calls,  by  which  old  friendships  were  renewed,  family  differences  settled, 
and  broken  or  neglected  intimacies  restored.  This  is  another  of  the 
excellent  customs  of  the  olden  times  that  still  continues  among  New 
Yorkers ;  and  its  origin,  like  many  others,  is  thus  traced  exclusively  to 
the  earliest  Hollanders. 

Paas,  or  Easter,  was  a  famous  festival  among  the  Dutch,  but  is  now 
almost  forgotten,  except  by.  the  children,  who  still  take  considerable 
interest  in  coloring  eggs  in  honor  of  the  day.  The  eggs  were  found  then 
on  every  table.  This  old  festival,  however,  is  rapidly  passing  away,  and 
like  Finkter  will  soon  be  forgotten. 

Santa  Claus,  however,  was  the  day  of  all  others  with  the  little  Dutch 
folk,  for  it  was  sacred  to  St.  Nicholas — the  tutelar  divinity  of  New 
Amsterdam,  who  had  presided  at  the  figure-head  of  the  first  emigrant 
ship  that  reached  her  shores.  The  first  church  erected  within  her  fort 
was  also  named  after  St.  Nicholas.  He  was,  to  the  imagination  of  the 
little  people,  a  jolly,  rosy-cheeked,  little  old  man,  with  a  slouched  hat, 
large  Flemish  nose,  and  a  very  long  pipe.  His  sleigh,  loaded  with  all 
sorts  of  Christmas  gifts,  was  drawn  by  swift  reindeer ;  and,  as  he  drove 
rapidly  over  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  he  would  pause  at  the  chimneys,  to 
leave  presents  in  the  stockings  of  the  good  children ;  if  lad,  they  might 
expect  nothing  but  a  switch  or  leather-strap.  In  this  way  the  young 
Knickerbockers  became  models  of  good  behavior  and  propriety.  They 
used  to  sing  a  suitable  hymn  on  the  occasion,  one  verse  of  which  is  here 

*  A  stiver  was  equal  to  nearly  two  cents  in  U.  S.  money.  Forty  of  them  made  a 
guilder. 


42 

given,  for  the  benefit  of  those  readers  who  may  wish  to  know  how  it 
sounded  in  Dutch  : 

"  Sint  Nicholaas,  myu  goden  vriend, 
Ik  heb  u  altyd  wel  geiiend ; 
Als  gy  my  nu  wot  wilt  geben, 
Fal  ik  dienen  als  myn  leven." 

TKANSLATION. 

"  Saint  Nicholas,  my  dear,  good  friend, 
To  serve  you  ever  was  my  end  ; 
If  you  me  now  something  will  give, 
Serve  you,  I  -will,  as  long  as  I  live." 

'^ Dinner  parties'' in  these  primitive  days  were  unknown;  but  this 
seeming  lack  of  social  intercourse  was  more  than  made  up  by  the  well- 
known  and  numerous  tea  parties.     To  "  take  tea  out "  was  a  Dutch  insti- 
tution, and  one  of  great  importance.      The  matrons  arrayed  in  their  best 
petticoats  and  Hnsey  jackets,  "  home  spun  "  by  their  own  wheels,  would 
proceed  on  the  intended  afternoon  visit.     They  wore  capacious  pockets, 
with  scissors,  pin-cushion,  and  keys  hanging  from  their  girdle,  outside 
their  dress ;   and,  reaching  the  neighbor's  house,  the  visitors  industriously 
used  knitting-needles  and  tongues  at  the  same  time.     Now,  the  village 
gossi]3  was  talked  over,  neighbors'  affairs  settled,  and  the  stockings  finished 
by  tea-time,  when  the  important  meal  appeared  on  the  table  precisely  at  six 
o'clock.     This  was  always  the  occasion  for  the  display  of  the  family  plate, 
with  the   Lilliputian  cups,  of  rare  old  family  china,  out  of  which  the 
guests  sipped  the  fragrant  herb.     A  large  lump  of  loaf-sugar  invariably 
accompanied  each  cup,   on  a  little   plate,  .and  the  delightful  beverage 
was  sweetened  by  an  occasional  nibble,  amid  the  more  solid  articles  of 
waffles  and  Dutch  dough-nuts.     The  pleasant  visit  finished,  the  visitors, 
donning  cloaks  and  hoods — as  bonnets  were  unknown — proceeded  home- 
ward in  time  for  milking  and  other  necessary  household  duties.     The 
kitchen  fire-places  were  of  immense  size,  large  enough  to  roast  a  sheep 
or  whole  hog ;  and  the  hooks  and  trammels  sustained  large  iron  pots  and 
kettles.      In   the    spacious    chimney-corners    the    children  and   negroes 
gathered — telling  stories  and  cracking  nuts  by  the  light  of  the  blazing 
pine  knots,  while  the  industrious  vrows  turned  the  merry  spinning-wheel, 
and  their  lords,  the  worthy  burghers — mayhap  just  returned  from  an 
Indian  scrimmage — quietly  smoked  their  long  pipes,  as  they  sat  watching 
the  wreaths  curling  above  their  heads.     At  length,  the  clock,  with  its 
brazen  tongue,  having  proclaimed  the  hour  of  nine,  family  prayers  were 
said,  and  all  retired,  to  rise  with  the  dawn. 

A  model  housekeeper  rose  at  cock-crowing,  breakfasted  with  the 
dawn,  and  proceeded  to  the  duties  of  the  day ;  and  when  the  sun  reached 
the  meridian  or  "  noon  mark,"  dinner,  which  was  strictly  a  family  meal, 
was  on  the  table.     This  domestic  time-piece  answered  every  purpose,  so 


43 

regular  were  the  hours  and  lives  of  the  people.  At  one  time  there  were 
not  more  than  half  a  dozen  clocks  in  New  Amsterdam,  with  about  the 
same  number  of  watches.  But  they  were  strikingly  peculiar  in  one 
respect :  they  were  scarcely  ever  known  to  go,  and  hence  were  of  very 
little  practical  utility.  No  watch-maker  had  yet  found  it  profitable  to 
visit  the  settlement ;  and  this  was  a  period  two  centuries  before  the  inven- 
tion of  Yankee  clocks.  For  a  long  while,  time  was  marked  by  hour-glasses 
and  sun-dials. 

We  have  already  seen  the  interior  of  the  kitchen,  and  will  now  go 
up  stairs  into  the  parlor  of  the"  early  Dutch  dwellings.  Stoves  were  never 
dreamed  of,  but  in  their  place  was  the  cheerful  fire-place,  sometimes  in 
the  corner,  but  more  generally  reaching  nearly  across  the  back  of  the 
room,  with  its  huge  gum  back-log  and  glowing  fire  of  hickory.  The 
shovel  and  tonges  occupied  each  corner  of  the  fire-place,  keeping  guard, 
as  it  were,  over  the  family  brass-mounted  andirons  which  supported  the 
blazing  wood.  Marble  mantles  had  not  yet  been  invented,  but  chim- 
ney-jambs, inlaid  with  party  colors,  imported  Holland  tiles,  representing 
all  kinds  of  Scriptural  stories,  were  quite  ornamental  as  well  as  instructive. 
Many  a  youngster  has  received  categorical  instruction  from  these  silent, 
venerable  teachers. 

In  one  corner  of  the  room  always  stood  the  huge  oaken  iron-bound 
chest,  brimful  of  household  hnen,  spun  by  the  ladies  of  the  family,  who 
delighted  to  display  these  domestic  riches  to  their  visitors.  Later,  this 
plain  wardrobe  gave  place  to  the  "  chest  of  drawers^''  one  drawer  placed 
upon  the  other,  until  the  pile  reached  the  ceiling,  with  its  shining  brass 
rings  and  key-holes.  The  book-case,  too,  with  its  complicated  writing- 
desk,  mysterious  secret  drawers  and  pigeon-holes  came  into  use  about 
the  same  period,  though  both  were  unknown  to  the  early  Knickerbockers. 
Side-boards  were  not  introduced  into  New  Amsterdam  until  after  the 
American  devolution,  and  were  entirely  of  English  origin.  The  round 
tea-table  also  occupied  a  place  in  a  corner  of  the  parlor,  while  the  large 
square  dining-table  stood  in  the  kitchen  for  daily  use.  In  another  corner 
stood  the  well-known  Holland  cupboard,  with  glass  doors,  conspicuously 
displaying  the  family  plate  and  porcelain.  Little  looking-glasses  in  nar- 
row black  frames,  were  in  common  use ;  two  or  three  only  of  the  wealth- 
iest burghers  possessing  larger  mirrors,  elaborately  ornamented  with 
gilding  and  flowers.  About  1730,  the  sconce  came  in  fashion — a  hanging 
or  projecting  candlestick,  with  a  mirror  to  reflect  the  rays.  This  was  a 
very  showy  article,  giving  a  fine  light  to  the  rooms.*     After  this  period^ 

*  Two  of  these  quaint  fixtures,  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  old,  hung,  until 
a  year  or  two  since,  in  the  parlor  of  the  Union  Hall,  at  ^ratoga  Springs,  N.  Y. 
Old  visitors  will  readily  recall  them.  They  now  adorn  the  parlors  of  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington Putnam,  of  Saratoga  Springs,  the  widow  of  the  late  Washington  Putnam,  for 
many  years  the  genial  host  and  owner  of  the  "  Union." 


44 

pier  and  mantle  glasses  came  into  fashion.  Pictures,  such  as  they  werey, 
abounded ;  but  they  were  for  the  most  part  poor  engravings  of  Dutch 
cities  and  naval  engagements.  Chintz  calico  of  inferior  quality  formed 
the  only  window  curtains,  without  any  cornices.  There  were  no  carpets 
among  the  early  Dutch,  nor  any  in  general  use  among  New  Yorkers 
until  up  to  the  period  of  the  Ee volution.  The  famous  Captain  Kidd,  it 
is  said,  owned  the  first  modern  carpet  in  his  best  room,  and  the  pirate's 
house  wa-s  the  best  furnished  in  the  city.  It  was  made  of  Turkey  work, 
at  a  cost  of  twenty-five  dollars,  and  resembled  a  large  rug.  The  custom 
of  sanding  the  floor  of  the  principal  room,  or  parlor,  was  universal,  and 
much  taste  was  displayed  in  the  many  fanciful  devices  and  figures  made 
in  the  sand  with  the  brooms  of  the  smart  Dutch  matrons  and  daughters. 
Our  Holland  ancestors  knew  nothing  of  lounges  or  sofas,  or  even  that 
comfortable  American  invention,  the  rocking-chair.  Their  best  chairs 
were  straight  and  high-backed,  covered  with  E-ussia  leather,  and  elabo- 
rately ornamented  with  double  and  triple  rows  of  brass  nails.  In  addi- 
tion to  these,  the  parlor  was  decorated  with  one  or  two  chairs  having 
embroidered  seats  and  backs,  the  handiwork  of  the  daughters.  Some  of 
the  oldest  families  also  displayed  in  their  best  rooms  two  chairs  with 
cushions  of  tapestry,  or  velvet,  trimmed  with  lace.  About  the  year  1700, 
cane  seats  became  fashionable,  and  thirty  years  after  came  the  leather 
chairs,  worth  from  five  to  ten  dollars  each.  These  led  the  fashion  about 
thirty  years  more,  when  mahogany  and  black  walnut  chairs,  with  their 
crimson  damask  cushions,  appeared. 

But  the  most  ornamental  piece  of  furniture  in  the  parlor  was  the 
bed,  with  its  heavy  curtains  and  valance  of  camlet.  No  mattresses  then, 
but  a  substantial  bed  of  live  geese  feathers,  with  a  very  light  one  of  down 
for  the  covering.  These  beds  were  the  boast  and  pride  of  the  most 
respectable  Dutch  matrons,  and,  with  their  well-filled  chests  of  home- 
made linen,  supplied  their  claims  to  skill  in  housekeeping.  A  check 
covering  cased  the  beds  and  pillows ;  the  sheets  were  made  of  homespun 
linen,  and  over  the  whole  was  thrown  a  bedquilt  of  patchwork,  wrought 
into  every  conceivable  shape  and  pattern. 

The  "  hetde  "  (bedstead)  was  at  this  period  a  part  of  the  house.  It 
was  constructed  something  like  a  cupboard,  with  closing  doors,  so  that 
by  day  when  unoccupied,  the  apartment  could  be  used  for  a  sitting- 
room.  In  more  humble  houses,  the  ''^ sloaf  lanch^''  or  "bunk,"  was  the 
sleeping  place.  In  Dutch  taverns,  the  good  vrow  or  her  maid  opened 
the  doors  of  the  "betste"  for  the  traveler,  and,  like  a  kind  mother,  bade 
him  '•'•  met  M  rusten'"'  —  "good-night,"  and  always,  as  an  old  friend, 
"  hoo-^j  rees'^ — "  good-by."  To  this  day,  in  Holland,  travelers  meet 
similar  receptions  at  the  taverns ;  and  all  the  guests,  assembling  in  one 
room,  eat,  drink,  and  smoke. 

Our   Dutch   forefathers  were  fond  of  pure,  good  milk — a  luxury 


45 

unknown  to  their  unfortunate  descendants.  It  was  the  common  practice 
for  all  who  could  atford  stable  room  to  keep  their  own  cows,  and  thus 
furnish  their  families  with  milk  and  butter.  E-ip  Van  Dam,  in  1748, 
kept  two  cows ;  and  Abraham  De  Peyster,  one  of  the  wealthiest  mer- 
chants, owned  the  same  number.  Good  pasturage,  too,  surrounded  the 
town,  no  further  off  than  the  present  Park.  A  man  with  a  bell  came 
along  early  in  the  morning  for  the  cows,  driving  them  through  Wall  to 
the  city-gate,  at  the  corner  of  that  street  and  Water ;  thence  to  the  fields 
about  the  Collect,  where  the  Tombs  now  stand  ;  in  the  evening,  he  brought 
them  back  to  their  owners. 

In  the  earlier  period  of  New  Amsterdam,  the  'grain  was  made  into 
flour  by  pestle  and  mortar,  every  family  adopting  this  method.  Coin 
then  as  now  (1868)  was  exceedingly  scarce  ;  nor  was  there  even  any  paper 
currency.  Hence,  grain  became  as  much  the  circulating  medium  as 
*'  greenbacks  "  are  at  the  present  day  Avith  us.  Prom  this  circumstance^ 
the  pestle  and  mortar  constituted  the  real  mints  of  the  people  ;  the 
pounded  grain  passing  current  for  goods  and  labor,  like  bank-notes. 

The  horses  of  those  days  were  bred  wild  in  the  woods  and  pastures 
which  covered  the  upper  part  of  Manhattan  Island.  Thousands  of  them 
ran  at  large,  their  owners,  at  certain  seasons,  branding  them  with  their 
names,  when  they  were  turned  loose  again,  until  winter  rendered  a  shelter 
for  them  necessary.  Such  was  their  great  increase,  that  it  is  said  the 
Island  was  overrun  by  the  animals,  now  become  as  wild  and  dangerous 
as  the  buffaloes  of  the  prairies  ;  the  breed  was,  consequently,  inferior,  the 
price  of  a  horse  ranging  from  ten  dollars  to  forty  dollars,  according  to 
the  strength,  and  not  the  speed,  of  the  animal.  This  great  plenty  of 
horseflesh,  however,  afforded  ample  opportunity  for  the  fair  Dutch  dames 
to  indulge  in  their  favorite  pastime — riding  on  horseback.  The  ladies,  at 
this  period,  however,  did  not  ride  on  horseback,  alone^  as  is  now  the  fashion, 
but  were  mounted  upon  a  pilhon,  or  padded  cushion,  placed  behind 
the  gentleman's  saddle  (or  a  servant's),  upon  whose  support  they  depended. 
This  was  the  common  custom,  as  the  roads  were  unbroken,  being,  in  fact, 
Httle  better  than  bridle-paths.  Early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  side- 
saddles came  into  partial  use.  The  gentlemen's  housings  were  made  of 
bright-colored  cloths  or  velvet,  often  trimmed  with  silver  lace ;  holsters 
were  common. 

The  literature  of  New  Amsterdam  was  entirely  different  from  that 
of  modern  times.  In  the  place  of  the  novels,  magazines,  and  light  read- 
ing which  now  fill  the  center-tables,  there  was  to  be  found  little  else  than 
Bibles,  Testaments,  and  psalm-books.  The  matrons'  church  books 
were  generally  costly  bound,  with  silver  clasps  and  edgings,  and  some- 
times of  gold.  These  were  suspended  to  the  girdle  by  silver  and  gold 
chains,  and  distinguished  the  style  of  the  families  using  them,  on  the 
Sabbath  days. 


46 

The  Sundays  in  New  Amsterdam  were,  moreover,  better  observed 
by  its  inhabitants  than  at  the  present  day.  All  classes,  arrayed  in  their 
best,  then  attended  the  pubHc  services  of  religion ;  and  the  people,  almost 
exclusively  Calvinists,  attended  the  Dutch  Eeformed  Church.  The 
"  Xo^(?Z-,"  or  bell-ringer  and  sexton,  was  an  important  personage  on  the 
Sabbath.  He  not  only  summoned  the  congregation  by  the  sound  of  the 
church-going  bell,  but  formed  a  procession  of  himself  and  his  assistants 
to  carry  the  cushions  of  the  burgomasters  and  schepens  from  the  City 
Hall  to  the  pews  appropriated  to  these  officials.  At  the  same  time,  the 
Schout  went  his  rounds,  to  see  that  quiet  was  kept  in  th'e  streets  during 
Divine  worship,  and  ^Iso  to  stop  the  games  of  the  negro  slaves  and 
Indians — to  whom  the  Sabbath  was  allowed  as  a  day  of  recreation,  except 
during  church  hours. 

Small  pieces  of  wampum  were  obtained  by  the  deacons,  and  sold  at 
great  value  to  the  heads  of  the  Dutch  families.  These,  having  been 
distributed  among  the  different  members  of  families,  were  then  taken  to 
church,  and  deposited  in  the  collection-bags,  which  were  attached  to  long 
poles.  Such  was  the  custom  a  long  while  ;  nor,  in  some  of  the  interior 
Dutch  settlements,  has  it  been  entirely  abandoned  at  the  present  day. 
Formerly,  a  small  bell  was  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  bags,  to  remind 
the  drowsy  of  the  collection.  The  deacons,  being  thus  prepared  to  receive 
the  benefactions  of  the  congregation,  presented  themselves  in  front  of  the 
pulpit,  when,  the  Dominie  having  addressed  a  few  appropriate  words  to 
them,  they  forthwith  proceeded  to  collect  the  contributions.  At  that  day, 
also,  the  "  Koorleser^"'  or  Clerk,  occupied  a  little  pew  in  front  of  the  pulpit, 
holding  in  his  hand  a  rod,  on  the  end  of  which  all  notices  were  placed, 
and  thus  passed  up  to  the  Dominie.  The  moment  the  minister  reached 
the  pulpit  stairs,  he  offered  a  private  prayer,  holding  his  hat  before  his 
face,-  until,  having  sought  the  aid  of  his  Lord  and  Master,  he  ascended 
the  sacred  desk. 

It  was,  also  at  this  time,  the  custom  to  publish  from  the  pulpit  the 
lans  three  times  before  a  marriage  could  be  solemnized. 

The  Dutch  Church  w^as,  at  this  period,  within  the  fort  at  the  Battery ; 
and  the  present  Bowling  Green,  an  open  field,  exhibited  many  country 
wagons,  arranged  in  regular  order,  while  their  horses  were  allowed  to 
graze  on  the  green  slopes  that  led  down  to  the  Hudson  River.  And 
here,  in  the  old  Church  of  St.  JSicholas^  for  half  a  century,  from  1642  to 
1693,  the  early  Dutch  worshipped  God  in  His  Holy  Temple. 

Every  house  in  New  Amsterdam  was  surrounded  by  a  garden,  suf- 
ficiently large  to  accommodate  a  horse,  a  cow,  two  pigs,  fowls,  a  patch  of 
cabbages,  and  a  tulip-bed.  Indeed,  the  love  of  flowers  seems  to  have 
been  inherent  to  the  Dutch  dames.  While  the  head  of  a  family 
carefully  watched  the  growth  of  some  ancient  household  tree,  planted  in 
accordance  with  a  universal  custom  in  New  Amsterdam    directly  before 


47 

the  door-way,  the  matron  might  have  been  seen  with  her  large  calash 
over  her  shoulders,  and  her  little  painted  basket  of  seeds  in  her  hand^ 
going  to  the  labors  of  the  garden.  Nor  is  this  figurative.  It  was  the 
universal  custom  for  a  Dutch  lady  in  independent  circumstances,  gentle 
of  form  and  manner,  to  sow,  plant,  and  cultivate.  These  fair  gardeners 
were  also  good  florists.  Where  has  there  ever  been  found  choicer 
hyacinths  and  tulips  than  among  the  Hollanders  ?  Indeed,  all  New 
Yorkers  may  well  feel  proud  of  their  great-great-great  Holland  grand- 
mothers. They  were  fair  and  unblemished  religious  dames,  with  great 
grasp  of  mind  and  of  exemplary  industry.  The  important  task  of  religious 
instruction  chiefly  devolved  upon  them  ;  and  the  essentials,  especially  the 
ceremonials  of  piety,  were  instilled  upon  the  minds  of  their  children. 
Hence  mothers  among  the  early  Dutch  were  always  regarded  with 
peculiar  reverence. 

The  Dutch  ladies  wore  no  bonnets,  as  is  still  the  fashion  with  some 
of  the  German  emigrants  who  now  arrive  at  Castle  Garden.  At  New 
Amsterdam  the  fashionable  dress  was  a  colored  petticoat,  rather  short  (for 
ease  in  walking),  waist  jacket,  colored  hose  of  homespun  woolen,  and 
high-heeled  shoes,  suitable  to  a  city  destitute  of  pavements  or  sidewalks 
of  any  kind.  The  Dutch  burghers  wore  long-waisted  coats,  with  skirts 
reaching  almost  to  their  ankles,  and  adorned  with  large  silver  buttons 
The  wardrobe  of  a  prominent  burgomaster  at  the  transfer  of  New 
Amsterdam  to  the  British,  was  as  follows :  A  cloth  coat,  with  silver 
buttons,  worth  fifteen  dollars ;  a  stuff  coat,  ten  dollars  ;  cloth  breeches, 
ten  shillings  ;  a  cloth  coat,  with  gimp  buttons,  seven  dollars  and  fifty 
cents ;  a  black  cloth  coat,  seven  dollars ;  a  black  velvet  coat,  fifteen 
doUars ;  a  silk  coat,  breeches,  and  doublet,  six  dollars  ;  a  silver  cloth 
breeches  and  doublet,  five  dollars;  a  velvet  waistcoat,  with  silver  lace, 
five  dollars  ;  a  buff  coat  and  silk  sleeves,  five  dollars ;  three  grass-green 
cloaks,  six  dollars  each  ;  besides  several  old  suits.  To  these,  also,  must 
be  added  linen,  hose,  shoes  with  silver  buckles,  a  cane  with  an  ivory 
head,  and  a  hat.  It  may  be  doubted  if  Mayor  Hofi'man,  with  all  his 
cloths  and  cassimers,  can  "  begin  "  to  "turn  out"  such  an  assortment  of 
coats,  pants,  and  vests,  as  this  official  Dutchman,  his  predecessor,  in  "ye 
olden  time."  * 

In  the  good  old  Dutch  times  respectable  tradesmen  worked  hard ; 
none  were  drones  or  mere  lookers-on.  There  existed  but  little  competi- 
tion among  tradesmen,  as  with  us.  No  tempting  display  of  goods  in 
show-windows  attracted  the  attention  and  excited  the  desire  of  passers- 

*  A  little  later,  in  1690,  we  find  among  a  fashionable  gentleman's  apparel,  green 
silk  breeches,  flued  with  silver  and  gold ;  silver  gauze-breeches,  scarlet  and  blue 
silk  stockings,  laced  shirt,  a  blue  cloth  stuff  and  frieze  coat,  a  gun  and  a  pair  of 
pistols,  a  silver-hilted  sword,  a  silver  spoon  and  fork,  a  lacku  hat,  a  campaign,  shut- 
bob,  old-bob  wigs,  and  periwigs. 


48 

"by  to  go  beyond  their  means.  Content  to  sell  their  goods  at  a  fair  profit, 
they  secured  both  good  customers  and  a  reputation  for  probity  and  fair 
dealing.  It  was  the  English  who  first  introduced  display, -fashion,  and 
extravagance.  It  was  they  who  first  introduced  the  custom  of  keeping 
the  shops  open  at  night — a  needless  and  expensive  fashion,  and  greatly 
injurious  to  the  health  and  morals  of  the  clerks.  In  these  early  days, 
however,  the  diligent  closed  their  stores  and  shops  at  an  early  hour.  All 
classes  went  on  foot,  for  carriages  and  wheeled  vehicles  were  very  scarce. 
Even  physicians  paid  all  their  visits  on  foot ;  and  in  another  respect  they 
differ  widely  from  the  doctors  of  the  present  day — their  charges  were 
very  moderate. 

At  funerals,  it  was  the  custom  to  give  hot  wine  in  winter,  and  wine- 
sangaree  in  summer.  Ladies  generally  attended  on  such  mournful  occa- 
sions, especially  if  the  deceased  was  a  female,  when  burnt  wine  was 
served  in  silver  tankards.  At  a  later  era,  on  the  death  of  Mrs.  Daniel 
Phoenix,  the  wife  of  the  City  Treasurer,  all  the  paU-bearers  were  ladies. 

The  workingman  always  wore  his  leather-apron,  no  matter  what 
his  employment.  Tradesmen  were  accustomed  to  saw  their  own  wood  ; 
and  a  most  healthful  exercise  it  was.  Nor  did  any  man  in  middle  cir- 
cumstances fear  to  carry  home  his  ''  one  hundred  weight "  of  meal  from 
market.  On  the  contrary,  it  would  have  been  considered  a  disgrace  t(3 
have  avoided  such  a  burden. 

A  greater  change,  however,  in  the  habits  of  the  people,  cannot  be 
named  than  in  that  of  hired  servants  or  "  help."  The  female  servants 
formerly  wore  short  gowns  of  green  baize,  with  petticoats  of  linsey- 
woolsey,  receiving  only  half  a  dollar  a  week  for  their  wages.  Now,  they 
■demand  from  eight  to  fourteen  dollars  a  month,  and  dress  like  fashion- 
able ladies,  displaying  all  their  pride  and  show. 

In  these  primitive  days,  also,  when  a  man  "  set  up  business,"  he 
invariably  took  down  his  own  shutters,  opened  the  door,  swept  the  store, 
and  dusted  the  goods  himself  by  the  gray  dawn.  Then  men  grew  rich 
by  early  rising,  economy,  and  industry,  and  by  attending  to  their  own 
business  themselves,  and  not  leaving  their  interests  in  the  charge  of  boys, 
agents,  or  clerks.  The  only  capital  of  most  young  men  then  was  industry 
and  punctuality  ;  and  labor  and  honesty  were  as  fashionable  at  this  early 
day  as  stylish  young  men,  defaulting  cashiers,  fast  li\4ng,  and  fast  horses 
are  now.  Neither  would  any  sensible  matron  permit  her  daughter  to 
encourage  the  attentions  of  any  young  man  who  was  not  his  own  servant. 

Shortly  before  the  cession  of  New  Amsterdam  to  the  British  rule, 
the  settlement  was  celebrated  for  its  number  of  young  people,  as  the 
children  of  the  early  emigrants  had  then  reached  adult  age.  Several 
daughters  of  the  wealthy  burghers  were  married  to  young  Englishmen 
whose  visits  were  only  of  a  temporary  character.  Many  romantic  rural 
spots,  everywhere  surrounding  the  settlements  at  New  Netherland,  were 


49 

naturally  favorable  to  the  important  business  of  courtship,  and  there 
were  several  places  of  pleasant  resort  famed  for  this  business,  even  at 
that  early  day.  The  Locust- Trees  was  one,  upon  a  bluff  on  the  shore  of 
the  North  Eiver,  a  little  back  of  the  present  Trinity  Church-yard. .  From 
this  commanding  and  shady  eminence,  the  eye  could  wander  over  an 
extensive  vista  of  river,  bay,  islands,  and  the  bold,  distant  hills  of  New 
Jersey.  Here,  too,  was  the  West  India  Company's  beautiful  garden,  on 
the  site  of  the  present  Trinity  Church,  with  its  rich  flowers  and  vegetable 
productions.  A  little  beyond  the  town  was  Maiden's  Valley^  now  Maiden 
Lane,  a  rural,  shady  walk,  with  a  charming  little  rivulet  meandering 
through  it.  The  original  name  of  this  rustic  walk  was  TMaagde  Paatje^ 
or  the  "  Maiden's  Path.'"  South  of  this  lane  stretched  the  Clover  JFai/tie, 
or  "  Pasture  Field ;"  and  from  the  present  Gold  street,  hidden  in  the 
foliage,  a  little  stream,  fed  by  a  living  spring,  came  tumbling  down  the 
rocks.  From  John,  near  Gold,  a  longer  walk  led  to  the  enchanting  lake- 
let, the  Kolch,  or  Collect,  nestling  within  a  circle  of  forest  hills.  Like 
many  such  ponds  in  the  vicinity  of  old  villages,  this,  traditionally,  had  no 
bottom,  and  was  said  to  be  haunted  by  the  spirits  of  some  old  native 
sachems,  the  paddles  of  whose  canoes  could  be  heard  at  night,  though 
nothing  was  seen  visibly  to  disturb  the  crystal  waters.  All  these  spots 
WQre  famous  trysting-places  of  the  youthful  New  Netherlanders.  But 
how  changed  the  scene  I  Where  those  sparkling  and  beautiful  waters 
once  flowed,  and  the  morning  carols  of  the  birds  were  heard,  the  dark, 
sorrowful,  and  sinful  abodes  of  the  '"  Five  Points"  now  stand  in  close 
proximity  to  the  gloomy  prison-cells  of  the  '•  Tombs.'' 

But  although  New  York  City,  two  hundred  years  ago,  passed  over 
to  British  rule,  still  'the  inhabitants  remained  Dutch  in  their  manners, 
costumes,  modes  of  thought,  and  religious  ideas,  for  many  subsequent 
years.  Sleighing  was  a  fashionable  amusement ;  and  a  ride  to  Harlem 
became  the  longest  drive  among  the  "  city  folk."'  Parties,  however,  often 
turned  aside  to  visit  "Hell  Gate,"  influenced,  doubtless,  by  the  fact  that 
on  this  road,  over  the  Tamkill  (a  Httle  stream  emptying  into  the  East 
River,  opposite  Blackwell's  Island),  was  the  ^^Kissi7ig  Bridge,'^  so  laid 
down  on  the  old  maps,  and  named  from  the  old  Dutch  custom  of  the 
gentlemen  saluting  their  lady  companions  whenever  they  'crossed  the 
bridge.  That  was  the  day  also  of  the  "  cocked  hats "  and  "  cues," 
which  stuck  out  from  behind  the  head  "stiff  as  a  poker."*  The  most 
fashionable  gentleman  made  his  appearance  before  the  fair  one  who 
was  to  be  his  companion  in  the  ride,  in  a  large  camlet  cloak  with  a  very 
large  cape,  snuff-colored  coat  and  small  clothes,  and  stockings  drawn  over 
the  shoes  to  keep  out  the  snow.  In  addition,  a  woolen  tippet  warmly 
protected  his  neck,  and  domestic-knit  mittens  his  hands.  People  then 
showed  their  good  sense  by  dressing  according  to  the  weather. 

An  old  chronicle  tell  us  that  an  Ethiopian,  named  Caesar,  had  great 
4 


50 

fame  as  a  driver,  fiddler,  and  waiter.  The  ladies,  once  upon  a  time, 
appeared  in  linsey-woolsey  cardinals,  with  hoods  of  immense  size  ;  and 
at  noon  away  went  the  party  in  high  glee,  to  the  jingle  of  sleigh-bells,  to 
take  a  dish  of  tea  and  a  dance  at  Harlem.  Beaching  there,  Caesar  tuned 
his  three- stringed  fiddle  ;  and  the  gentlemen  .appeared  in  their  snare-toed 
shoes,  and  the  ladies  in  peak-toed,  high-heeled  slippers.  Dancing  and 
skipping  the  "  light,  fantastic  toe  "  immediately  begun,  and  continued 
until  ei{/ht  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  they  again  hastened  back  to  the 
city ;  for  "to  be  out''  after  nine,  on  common  occasions,  was  considered  a  cer- 
tain sign  of  bad  morals. 

To  sum  up,  the  earliest  Dutch  emigrants  to  New  York  left  their  deep 
impress  upon  the  city  and  upon  the  State.  Far-reaching  commerce, 
which  immortalized  Old  Amsterdam  in  the  seventeenth  century,  soon 
provoked  the  envy  of  New  Amsterdam's  neighbors,  and  in  the  end  made 
our  city  the  emporium  of  the  Western  World.  Our  ancestors  left  chil- 
dren and  children's  children,  who  were  well  fitted  to  act  important  parts 
in  the  great  work  of  opening  the  American  continent  to  European  and 
Christian  civilization.  They  brought  with  them  honest  maxims,  industry, 
and  the  liberal  ideas  of  their  Fatherland — their  schoolmasters,  their 
dominies,  and  their  Bibles.  In  the  course  of  events,  however,  New 
Netherland  passed  over  to  British  rule,  when  new  customs,  new  relation- 
ships, and  new  habits  of  thought,  were  introduced.* 

*  It  may  be  amusing  to  many  of  the  present  generation,  so  little  accustomed  to 
the  old  Dutch  names,  to  read  some  titles  once  very  familiar  in  New  Amsterdam  and 
New  York,  but  now  so  seldom  thought  of  or  understood : 

De  Ilerr—Omcer  ;  or  Hoofd-Schout,  High-Sheriif. 

De  Fiscoll — Attorney-General. 

Groot  Bingenecht,  and  Klein  Bittgenecht,  the  great  and  small  citizenship,  early 
marking  the  two  orders  of  society. 

The  Schont  (Sheriff),  Burgomeesters,  and  Schepens,  then  ruled  the  city,  "  as  in 
all  cities  of  the  FatheriamV 

Gelieim  Schuyner — Recorder  of  Secrets. 

Wees-Meesiers — Guardians  of  Orphans. 

Roy-Meester — Regulator  of  Fences. 

Eyck-Meester— The  Weigh-Master. 

The  word  Bos  still  in  use,  a  century  ago  was  written  Baas,  and  literally  means 
"  master" — not  a  very  popular  name  for  Democrats  to  use,  though  they  all  greatly 
desire  to  become  a  Bos. 


SECOND     PERIOD. 

1674-1783. 

From   the   English  Conquest  to  the  Revolutionary  "War  and    the  Termination  of 

British  Rule. 


Befoke  entering  upon  the  history  of  this  period,  it  seems  desirable 
to  take  a  ramble  about  the  limits  of  New  Amsterdam  and  see  for  our- 
selves how  it  appeared  at  the  time  that  the  Dutch  surrendered  it  to  the 
English.  In  our  walk  we  will  take  as  our  guide  a  map  of  the  "  Towne 
of  TFamhados,  or  yew  Amsterdam,  as  it  was  in  Se-ptemher^  1661/'  a  copy  of 
which  now  lies  before  us.  This  is,  so  far  as  known,  the  only  plan  of  the 
city  executed  in  the  early  Dutch  times,  and  was  found  a  few  years  since 
in  the  British  Museum. 

The  town  wind-mill  stood  on  a  blutf,  within  our  present  Battery, 
opposite  Greenwich  street.  On  Water,  between  Whitehall  and  Moore 
streets,  was  the  "  Government  House,"'  built,  by  Stuyvesant,  of  stone,  and 
the  best  elihce  in  flie  town.  When  Governor  Dongan  became  its 
owner  he  changed  its  name  from  the  "  Government  House  "  to  ''  White- 
hall," and  hence  the  name  of  the  street.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  large 
inclosure,  one  side  of  which,  with  the  garden,  was  washed  by  the  river, 
A  little  dock  for  pleasure-boats  ran  into  the  stream  at  this  point.  Here, 
also,  was  located  the  Governor  s  house,  between  which,  and  the  canal  in 
Broad  street,  was  the  present  Pearl  street,  then  the  great  center  of  trade — • 
known  as  the  "  Water-side,''  and  sometimes  as  the  •'  Strand."'  Near  the 
Governor's  house  was  the  "  Way-House,"  or  Weigh-House,  at  the  head 
of  the  public  wharf  at  the  foot  of  the  present  Moore  street.  A  very  short 
distance  off,  and  parallel  with  Pearl,  ran  the  Burgh  Straat  (the  present 
Bridge  street),  so  named  from  the  fact  of  its  leading  to  the  bridge  across 
the  canal  in  Broad.  There  was  a  small  passage-way  running  through 
this  block  and  along  the  side  of  the  "  Old  Church,"  for  convenient 
access  to  a  row  of  houses,  laid  down  on  the  map.  These,  live  in  num- 
ber, belonged  to  the  Company,  and  were  built  of  stone.  In  front  of 
them  was  a  beautiful  sloping  green.  The  canal  in  Broad  street  was,  in 
truth,  but  a  narrow  stream,  running  toward  Wall  street  for  a  quarter  of 
a  mile.     Both  sides  were  dyked  with  posts,  in  the  fashion  of  Fatherland^ 


52 

at  the  distance  of  twelve  feet  from  the  houses.  On  each  side,  as  houses 
line  a  canal  in  Holland,  stood  a  row  of  buildings  in  the  ultra  Dutch  style, 
low,  high-peaked,  and  very  neat,  with  their  gables  toward  the  street. 
Each  had  its  stoop,  a  vane  or  weather-cock,  and  its  dormer-window. 
From  the  roof  of  one,  a  little  iron  crane  projected,  with  a  small  boat  at 
its  end,  as  a  sign  of  this  being  the  "  Ferry-House."  The  landing  was  at 
the  head  of  the  canal,  in  Broad  street,  at  the  point  where  Garden  united 
with  it.  This  canal  or  httle  stream  originally  went  up  to  "  Yerlettenberg 
Hill"  (Exchange  Place),  afterward  corrupted  into  "  Flottenbanck."  This 
was  the  head  of  tide-water  ;  and  here  the  country  people  from  Brooklyn, 
Gowanus,  and  Bergen  brought  their  marketing  to  the  center  of  the  city. 
Many  of  the  market-boats  were  rowed  by  stout  women,  without  hats  or 
bonnets,  but  wearing  in  their  place  close  caps.  There  were  generally  two 
rowers  to  each  craft. 

Farther  along  the  East  Eiver  or  "  Water-side  "  a  building  of  con- 
siderable pretension  appeared — the  Stadt  Huys  or  City  Hall,  first  erected 
as  a  tavern,  but  afterward  taken  by  the  municipal  government.  In 
front  of  the  Stadt  Huys  was  placed  a  battery  of  three  guns.  Proceeding 
along  the  river-shore  we  pass  Hanover  Square,  where  two  boats  are  lying, 
and  approach  the  '^  City  Gate,"  at  the  foot  of  Wall  street,  sometimes 
called  the  ''  Water  Gate,"  to  distinguish  it  from  the  "  Land  Gate  "  at 
that  end  of  the  road  on  the  Sheer  a  Straat  (Broadway).  The  Water  Gate 
seems  to  have  been  quite  an  imposing  structure,  doubtless  because  Pearl 
street  was  the  great  thoroughfare  and  main  entrance  to  the  town.  Most 
of  the  strangers  or  visitors  to  New  Amsterdam  came  from  Long  Island. 

Continuing  our  walk  toward  Long  Island  Ferry,  or  "Passage-Place," 
and  passing  by  Maiden  Lane,  we  come  to  another  public  way,  leading 
to  "Shoemakers'  Land"  and  "  Yandercliff 's  Orchard,''  both  places  of 
noted  resort.     This  was  the  present  John  street,  from  Pearl  to  CHff. 

At  a  very  early  day  the  tanneries  in  Broad  street  were  declared  a 
nuisance,  and  their  owners  ordered  to  remove  beyond  the  city  limits. 
This  they  did,  and  established  themselves  along  Maiden  Lane,  then  a 
marshy  valley.  Four  of  the  number,  shoemakers  by  trade,  purchased  a 
tract  of  land  bounded  by  Broadway,  Ann,  William,  and  Gold  streets,  and 
here  commenced  their  business^  This  region  was  thenceforth  known  as 
the  Shoemakers'  Land^  a  name  which  it  retained  so  late  as  1696,  when  it 
was  divided  into  town-lots.  The  tanners  were  next  driven  from  this 
locality  into  what  is  even  now  known  as  the  "  Swamp. ''^  The  Vander cliff ''s 
Orchard  was  bounded  by  the  EastPiver,  Shoemakers'  Land,  and  Maiden 
Lane.  Its  original  owner  was  Hendrick  Pyker,  who  sold  it  in  1680 
to  Dirck  Vandercliff.  During  the  Revolution  this  tract  received  the 
more  pleasant-sounding  name  of  Golden  Hill,  so  named,  it  is  said,  from 
the  fine  wheat  grown  on  it.  Cliff"  street  yet  preserves  a  part  of  the  old 
title.     Proceeding  past  Golden  Hill  we  come  to  a  large  edifice,  close  to 


53 

the  present  site  of  Fulton  Market,  and  marked  on  the  map  as 
"  Alderton's  Buildings,''  surrounded  by  a  fence.  This  is  supposed  to  be 
the  store-house  of  Isaac  Allerton,  who  resided  at  New  Amsterdam  and 
carried  on  an  extensive  trade  with  the  New  England  colonies.  He  was 
one  of  the  emigrants  in  the  May  Flower,  and  a  notable  character  in  our 
early  history.  His  business  was  the  importation  of  tobacco  from  Virginia, 
and  this  edifice  was  probably  his  great  tobacco  depot. 

Continuing  our  tour  we  reach  the  "Passage-Place,"  the  present 
Peck  Slip,  known  for  a  long  time  as  the  ''  Old  Perry."  This  was  the 
earliest  Brooklyn  ferry,  the  city  authorities  in  1654  regulating  its  rates- 
at  three  stivers  for  foot-passengers,  except  Indians,  who  paid  six,  unless 
there  were  two  or  more.  Here  Cornells  Dircksen,  the  ferryman,  who 
owned  a  farm  near  by,  at  the  sound  of  a  horn  hanging  on  the  tree  from 
the  passengers,  ferried  them  over  in  his  little  skiff..  Still  further  on. 
there  was  a  little  stream,  on  the  bank  of  which  stood  a  water-mill.  This 
brook  ran  into  Walphafs  Meadow,  which  covered  the  present  Roosevelt 
street  and  vicinity.  This  stream,  known  as  "  Old  Wreck  Brook,"  ran 
from  the  meadow  into  the  Kolch  (Collect),  a  bridge  crossing  it  on  the 
highway  in  Chatham  near  Pearl. 

The  "  Commons'^  (the  present  Park)  was  a  well-known  spot  in  early 
New  York.  Through  it  passed  the  post-road  to  Boston,  the  present 
Chatham  street,  and  for  many  years  this  was  the  place  for  public  execu- 
tions. North  of  the  Commons,  or  the  VlacUe  (the'"  Plat"),  lay  the  Fresh- 
Water  Pond  (to  which  allusion  has  already  been  made)  with  its  neighboring 
district  Kolch  Hook,  or  Collect,  below  the  Commons.*  Near  the  Collect 
rose  Potter's  Hill.  '  At  its  foot  followed  the  "  Owl's  Kill/'  leading  the 
waters  of  that  pond  through  the  marshes  of  "  Wolfert's  Valley"  to  the 
East  River.  Toward  the  river  was  the  Swamp,  the  present  Ferry  street 
and  neighborhood,  a  low  marshy  place,  covered  with  bushes  and  briars. t 

*  As  the  city  gradually  extended  its  limits,  the  powder-house,  at  first  built  on. 
the  Commons,  was  considered  unsafe,  and  a  new  magazine  was  built  in  1728  upou 
a  secluded  little  island  in  the  Fresh- Water  Pond.  Not  far  from  this  place,  in  the 
course  of  the  following  year,  Noe  Willey,  of  London,  gave  to  his  three  sons  in  New 
York  the  ground  for  a  Jewish  cemetery.  It  was  bounded  by  Chatham,  Catherine^ 
and  Oliver  streets,  and  was  to  be  held  forever  as  a  burial-place  for  the  Israelites. 
But  the  wishes  of  the  old  Hebrew  have  been  violated  long  since,  for  Chatham  street 
now  runs  through  the  sacred  enclosure,  and  Mammon  has  erected  a  bank  and  stores 
upon  the  spot.  Some  tomb-stones,  however,  still  stand,  like  grim  sentinels,  to  keep 
guard  over  this  once  hallowed  and  venerable  grave-yard, 

f  In  1744,  this  tract  was  sold  for  £200  to  Jacobus  Roosevelt,  who  divided  it 
into  fifty  lots  and  established  on  them  several  tanneries.  This  indicated  its  future 
destiny,  and  ever  since  it  has  been  the  center  of  the  large  leather  trade  of  the  city. 
More  immense  fortunes  have  been  made  about  that  region  than  any  other  of  the 
same  extent  in  the  city.  It  was  originally  called  Beekmaros  Swamp,  and  leased  to 
Rip  Van  Dam,  a  member  of  the  Council,  for  twenty-one  years,  at  a  yearly  rent  of 
twenty  shillings. 


54 

The  city  wall,  called  the  "  lingel"  or  ramparts,  was  a  row  of  pali- 
sades, with  embankments  nine  feet  high  and  four  wide,  on  which  several 
oannon  were  mounted  on  bastions.  Two  large  stone  points  were  after- 
ward added— :one  on  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Wall,  called  ^^Ilollandia^^^ 
and  the  other  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Wall  and  William,  known  as 
^'  Zealmidlay  These  completely  commanded  the  whole  front  of  the  city 
wall. 

Eetracing  our  steps  into  town,  we  have  now  leisure  to  examine  more 
carefully  the  canal,  which  is  laid  down  as  running  through  the  entire 
length  of  Broad  street.  Thirty  years  later  this  canal  was  filled  up. 
It  had  a  little  branch  running  toward  the  west  through  Beaver  street. 
The  Steeregraft,  or  main  canal,  appears  to  have  been  crossed  by  two  prin- 
cipal bridges,  one  at  Bridge  and  the  other  at  Stone  street,  with  smaller 
ones,  evidently  designed  for  foot-passengers.  Near  Beaver  street,  small 
boats  or  canoes  lie  moored  in  the  canal. 

Pearl  street  then,  and  for  many  years  afterward,  formed  the  river 
bank.  Water  and  South  streets  have  both  been  reclaimed  from  the 
water.*  On  the  west  side  of  Broadway,  above  the  grave-yard,  at  the 
present  Morris  street,  were  the  country-seats  of  Messrs.  Yandergrist  and 
Van  Dyck.  On  Whitehall  street  stood  the  parsonage  of  the  Dutch 
Dominie,  with  its  garden  of  beautiful  tulips  and  hyacinths,  and  its  paths 
of  cedar  and  clipped  box.  Close  at  hand  stood  the  bakery,  brewery,  and 
warehouse  of  the  Company.  In  William,  near  Pearl,  was  the  old  horse- 
mill,  erected,  it  will  be  remembered,  by  Director  Minuit,  and  which  did 
good  service  until  superseded  by  the  three  wind-mills  of  Yan  T wilier. 
One  of  these  stood  on  State  street  and  was  the  most  prominent  object 
seen  in  approaching  the  city  from  the  bay.  The  old  fort  itself  was 
•bounded  by  Bridge,  Whitehall,  and  State  streets,  and  the  Bowling  Grreen. 

Two  main  roads  led  from  the  fort  at  the  Battery  toward  the  northern 
part  of  the  Island.  One  of  these,  afterward  the  "  Boston,  or  the  old  Post 
Road,"  followed  Broadway  to  the  Park,  and  then  extended  through 
Chatham,  Duane,  William,  and  Pearl  streets  to  the  Bowery. f  Along  the 
Bowery  road  lay  '^  Steenwyck's"  and  '' Heerman's"  orchards,  with  the 
well-known  Stuyvesant's  "  Bowerie"  (farm),  whence  the  name.  Near  the 
last,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Grammercy  Park,  came  "  Crummashie 
Hill,"  while  beyond  were  the  "  Zantberg''  hills,  witli  "  Minetta"  brook, 
which  found  its  way  through  a  marshy  valley  into  the  North  Piver.  Still 
further  toward  the  north,  near  Thirty-sixth  street  and  Fourth  avenue, 


*  One  of  the. last  relios  of  these  early  days  still  (1868)  stands  on  the  corner  of 
P  ;ck  Slip  and  W.iter  street,  and  is  well  worth  a  visit.  At  the  time  of  its  erection 
th?  river  flowed  along-side  of  it. 

f  In  the  year  109G  the  first  hackney-coach  was  introduced  ujion  the  Bowery 
road.  Previous  to  this  time,  with  the  exception  of  the  G-overnor's,  private  coaches 
were  unknown. 


55 

rose  the  ^^ Incleherg''  or  -'Beacon  Hill,"  the  Murray  Hill  of  later  times. 
From  this  latter  point  there  was  a  commanding  view  of  the  whole  Island. 
The  other  main  road  also  started  from  the  fort,  and  passing  through 
Stone  street  to  Hanover  Square,  led  along  the  East  Eiver  to  the  Brooklyn 
ferry. 

Thus  much  for  the  outward  appearance  of  New  York  at  this  time. 
In  regard  to  its  manners  and  interior  life  we  are  enabled — thanks  to 
the  late  researches  of  the  Hon.  Henry  C.  Murphy,  the  Foreign  Corre- 
sponding Secretary  of  the  Brooklyn  Historical  Society — to  speak  even 
more  definitely.  Toward  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  a  pecu- 
liar religious  sect  existed  in  Westphalia.  They  were  known  as  Labadists, 
and  professed  a  kind  of  mysticism,  holding,  nevertheless,  to  the  tenets  of 
the  Dutch  Eeformed  Church.  In  the  summer  of  1679  two  of  their  num- 
ber were  sent  over  to  America,  ;with  the  view  of  ascertaining  the  nature 
of  the  country  and  government,  and  selecting  a  suitable  place  for  the 
establishment  of  a  colony  of  the  religious  community  to  which  they 
belonged.  The  journal  whidi  they  kept  during  their  stay  in  America  is 
of  great  interest,  particularly  that  portion  having  reference  to  their  visit 
to  New  York ;  for,  aside  from  the  quaintness  and  originahty  of  the  nar- 
rative, it  is  of  peculiar  value,  as  giving  an  inside  view  of  the  people  of 
New  Amsterdam  at  this  time.  As  there  were  but  a  very  small  number 
of  copies  printed,  and  the  circulation  is  therefore  extremely  limited,  we 
shall  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  somewhat  extensively  from  the  work 
itself.* 

"  Having  then  fori;unately  arrived,  by  the  blessing  of  the  Lord,  before  the  City 
of  New  York,  on  Saturday,  the  23d  day  of  September,  we  stopped  ashore  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  company  with  Gerrit,  our  fellow-passenger,  who  would 
conduct  us,  in  this  strange  place.  He  had  lived  here  a  long  time,  and  had  married 
his  wife  here,  although  she  and  his  children  were  living  at  present  at  ZwoUe.  We 
went  along  with  him,  but  as  he  met  many  of  his  old  acquaintances  on  the  way,  we 
were  constantly  stopped.  He  first  took  us  to  the  house  of  one  of  his  friends,  who 
welcomed  him  and  us,  and  offered  us  some  of  the  fruit  of  the  country,  very  fine 
peaches  and  full-grown  apples,  which  filled  our  hearts  with  thankfulness  to  God. 
This  fruit  was  exceedingly  fair  and  good,  and  pleasant  to  the  taste ;  much  better 
than  that  in  Holland  or  elsewhere,  though  I  believe  our  long  fasting  and  craving  of 
food  made  it  so  agreeable.  After  taking  a  glass  of  Madeira,  we  proceeded  on  to 
Gerrit's  father-in-law's,  a  very  old  man,  half  lame,  and  unable  either  to  walk  or  stand 
who  fell  upon  the  neck  of  his  son-in-law,  welcoming  him  with  tears  of  joy.  The 
old  woiaan  was  also  very  glad.  This  good  man  was  born  in  Vlissingen,  and  was 
named  Jacob  Swart.  He  had  been  formerly  a  master-carpenter  at  Amsterdam,  but 
had  lived  in  this  country  upwards  of  forty-five  years.  After  we  had  been  here  a 
little  while,  we  left  our  traveling-bag,  and  went  out  to  take  a  walk  in  the  fields.  It 
was  strange  to  us  to  feel  such  stability  under  us,  although  it  seemed  as  if  the  earth 
itself  moved  under  our  feet  like  the  ship  had  done  for  thi'ee  months  past,  and  our 

*  This  journal  was  found  in  manuscript,  a  few  years  since,  in  Holland,  by  Mr. 
Murphy,  who,  perceiving  its  value,  presented  it  a  few  months  ago  to  the  Brooklyn 
Historical  Society,  by  whom  a  few  copies  were  printed  for  the  members  in  18G7. 


56 

body  also  still  swayed  after  the  manner  of  the  rolling  of  the  sea ;  but  this  sensation 
gradually  passed  off  in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  As  we  walked  along  we  saw  in 
different  gardens  trees  full  of  apples  of  various  kinds,  and  so  laden  with  peaches  and 
other  fruit  that  one  might  doubt  whether  there  were  more  leaves  or  fruit  on  them. 
I  have  never  seen  in  Europe,  in  the  best  seasons,  such  an  overflowing  abundance. 
When  we  had  finished  our  tour  and  given  our  guide  several  letters  to  deliver,  we 
returned  to  his  father-in-law's,  who  regaled  us  in  the  evening  with  milk,  which 
refreshed  us  much.  We  had  so  many  peaches  set  before  us  that  we  were  timid 
about  eating  them,  though  we  experienced  no  ill  effects  from  them.  We  remained 
there  to  sleep,  which  was  the  first  time  in  nine  or  ten  weeks  that  we  had  lain  down 
upon  a  bed  undressed,  and  able  to  yield  ourselves  to  sleep  without  apprehension  of 
danger. 

**  34th,  Sunday.  We  rested  well  through  the  night.  I  was  surprised  on  waking 
up  to  find  my  comrade  had  already  dressed  himself  and  breakfasted  upon  peaches. 
We  walked  out  awhile  in  the  fine,  pure  morning  air,  along  the  margin  of  the  clear 
running  water  of  the  sea,  which  is  driven  up  this  river  at  every  tide.  As  it  was 
Sunday,  in  order  to  avoid  scandal  and  for  other  reasons,  we  did  not  wish  to  absent 
ourselves  from  church.  We  therefore  went,  and  found  there  truly  a  wild,  Avorldly 
world.  I  say  wild,  not  only  because  the  people  are  wild,  as  they  call  it  in  Europe, 
but  because  most  all  the  people  who  go  there  to  live,  or  who  are  born  there,  partake 
somewhat  of  the  nature  of  the  country,  that  is,  peculiar  to  the  land  where  they  live. 
We  heard  a  minister  preach  who  had  come  from  the  up-river  country,  from  Fort 
Orange,  where  his  residence  is,  an  old  man  named  Dominie  Schaats,  of  Amste  rdam."  ^  * 
*  *  u  This  Schaats  then  preached.  He  had  a  defect  in  the  left  eye  and  used  such 
strange  gestures  and  language  that  I  think  I  never  in  all  my  life  heard  anything 
more  miserable  ;  indeed,  I  can  compare  him  with  no  one  better  than  with  one  Do. 
Van  Ecke,  lately  the  minister  at  Armuyden,  in  Zeeland,  more  in  life,  conversation, 
and  gestures  than  in  person.  As  it  is  not  strange  in  these  countries  to  have  men  as 
ministers  who  drink,  we  could  imagine  nothing  else  than  that  he  had  been  drinking 
a  little  this  morning.  His  text  was,  Come  unto  me  all  ye,  &c.,  but  he  was  so  rough 
that  even  the  roughest  and  most  godless  of  our  sailors  were  astonished. 

"  The  church  being  in  the  fort  we  had  an  opportunity  to  look  through  the  latter, 
as  we  had  come  too  early  for  preaching.  It  is  not  large  ;  it  has  four  jDoints  or  batter- 
ies ;  it  has  no  moat  outside  but  is  inclosed  with  a  double  row  of  palisades.  It  is  built 
from  the  foundation  with  quarry  stone.  The  parapet  is  of  earth.  It  is  well  pro- 
vided with  cannon,  for  the  most  part  of  iron,  though  there  were  some  small  brass 
pieces,  all  bearing  the  mark  or  arms  of  the  Netherlanders.  The  garrison  is  small. 
There  is  a  well  of  fine  water  dug  in  the  fort  by  the  English,  contrary  to  the 
opinion  of  the  Dutch,  who  supposed  the  fort  was  built  upon  rock,  and  had,  there- 
fore, never  attempted  any  such  thing.  There  is,  indeed,  some  indication  of 
stone  there,  for  along  the  edge  of  the  water  below  the  fort  there  is  a  very  large 
rock  extending  apparently  under  the  fort,  which  is  built  upon  the  point  formed  by 
the  two  rivers,  namely,  the  East  river,  which  is  the  water  running  between  the 
Mahattans  and  Long  Island,  and  the  North  river,  which  runs  straight  up  to  Fort 
Orange.  In  front  of  the  fort,  on  the  Long  Island  side,  there  is  a  small  island,  called 
Noten  island  (Nut  island),  around  the  point  of  which  vessels  must  go  in  sailing  out 
or  in,  whereby  they  are  compelled  to  pass  close  by  the  point  of  the  fort,  where  they 
can  be  flanked  by  several  of  the  batteries.  It  has  only  one  gate,  and  that  is  on  the 
land  side,  opening  upon  a  broad  plane  or  street,  called  the  Broadway  or  Beaver  way. 
Over  this  gate  are  the  arms  of  the  Duke  of  York.  During  the  time  of  the  Dutch 
there  were  two  gates,  namely,  another  on  the  water  side  ;  but  the  English  have 
closed  it  and  made  a  battery  there,  with  a  false  gate.     In  front  of  the  church  is 


57 

inscribed  the  name  of  Governor  Kyft,  who  caused  the  same  to  be  built  in  the  year 
1642.  It  has  a  shingled  roof,  and  upon  the  g-able  towards  the  water  there  is  a  small 
wooden  tower  with  a  bell  in  it  but  no  clock.  There  is  a  sun-dial  on  three  sides. 
The  front  of  the  fort  stretches  east  and  west,  and  consequently  the  sides  run  north 
and  south. 

"  After  we  had  returned  to  the  house  and  dined,  my  companion,  not  wishing  to 
go  to  church,  sat  about  writing  letters,  as  there  was  a  ship,  of  which  Andre  Bon 
was  master,  about  to  leave  in  a  few  days  for  London ;  but  in  order  we  should  not  be 
both  absent  from  church,  and  as  the  usual  minister  was  to  preach  in  the  afternoon,  I 
went  alone  to  hear  him.  He  was  a  thick,  corpulent  person,  with  a  red  and  bloated 
face,  and  of  very  slabbering  speech.*  His  text  was  '  the  elders  who  serve  well,'  &c., 
because  the  elders  and  deacons  were  that  day  renewed,  and  I  saw  them  admitted. 
After  preaching,  the  good  old  people  with  whom  we  lodged,  who,  indeed,  if  they 
were  not  the  best  on  all  the  Manathans,  were  at  least  among  the  best,  especially  the 
wife,  begged  we  would  go  with  their  son  Gerrit,  to  one  of  their  daughters,  who 
lived  in  a  delightful  place,  and  kept  a  tavern,  where  we  would  be  able  to  taste  the 
beer  of  New  Netherland,  inasmuch  as  it  was  also  a  brewery.  Some  of  their  friends 
passing  by  requested  Gerrit  and  us  to  accompany  them,  and  so  we  went  for  the  pur- 
pose of  seeing  what  was  to  be  seen ;  but  when  we  arrived  there,  we  found  ourselves 
much  deceived.  On  account  of  its  being  to  some  extent  a  pleasant  spot  it  was 
resorted  on  Sundays  by  all  sorts  of  revelers,  and  was  a  low  pot-house.  Our  com- 
pany immediately  found  acquaintances  there  and  joined  them,  but  it  being  repug- 
nant to  our  feelings  to  be  there,  we  walked  into  the  orchard  to  seek  pleasure  in  con- 
templating the  innocent  objects  of  nature.  Among  other  trees  we  observed  a  mul- 
berry-tree, the  leaves  of  which  were  as  large  as  a  plate.  The  wife  showed  us  pears 
larger  than  the  fist,  picked  from  a  three  years'  graft  which  had  borne  forty  of  them. 
A  great  storm  of  rain  coming  up  in  the  evening  compelled  us  to  go  into  the  house, 
where  we  did  not  remain  long  with  the  others,  but  took  our  leave  of  them  against 
their  wishes.  We  retraced  our  steps  in  the  dark,  exploring  a  way  over  which  we 
had  gone  only  once  in  our  life,  through  a  valey  (salt  meadow)  and  over  water  upon 
the  trunk  of  a  tree.  We  nevertheless  reached  home,  having  left  the  others  in  their 
revels.  While  in  their  company  we  conversed  with  the  first  male  born  of  Euro- 
peans in  New  Netherland,  named  Jean  Vigne.  His  parents  were  from  Valen- 
ciennes and  he  was  now  about  sixty-five  years  of  age.  He  was  a  brewer  and  a 
neighbor  of  our  old  people." 

"  25th  Monday.  We  went  on  board  the  ship  this  morning  in  order  to  obtain 
our  traveling  bag  and  clothes  for  the  purpose  of  having  them  washed,  but  when  we 
came  on  board  we  could  not  get  ashore  again  before  the  afternoon,  when  the  passen- 
gers' goods  were  to  be  delivered.  All  our  goods  which  were  between  decks  were 
taken  ashore  and  carried  to  the  public  storehouse,  where  they  had  to  be  examined, 
but  some  time  elapsed  before  it  was  done,  in  consequence  of  the  examiners  being 
elsewhere.  At  length,  however,  one  Abraham  Lennoy,  a  good  fellow  apparently, 
befriended  us.  He  examined  our  chest  only,  without  touching  our  bedding  or  any 
thing  else.  I  showed  him  a  list  of  the  tin  which  we  had  in  the  upper  part  of  our 
chest,  and  he  examined  it  and  also  the  tin,  and  turned  up  a  little  more  what  was  in 
the  chest  and  with  that  left  off,  without  looking  at  it  closely.  He  demanded 
four  English  shillings  for  the  tin,  remarking  at  the  same  time  that  he  had  observed 
some  other  small  articles,  but  would  not  examine  them  closely,  though  he  had  not 
seen  either  the  box  or  the  pieces  of  linen.     This  being  finished  we  sent  our  goods  in 

*  The  minister  here  referred  to  was  the  Rev.  ■William  Nieuenhuisen. 


58 

a  cart  to  our  lodgings,  paying  for  the  two  heavy  chests  and  straw  beds  and  other 
goods  from  the  public  store-house  to  the  Smit's  valey,  sixteen  stivers  of  zeawan,  equal 
to  three  stivers  and  a  half  in  the  money  of  Holland.  This  finished  the  day  and  we 
retired  to  rest. 

"  26th,  Tuesday.  "We  remained  at  home  for  the  purpose  of  writing,  but  in  the 
afternoon,  finding  that  many  goods  had  been  discharged  from  the  ship,  we  went  to 
look  after  our  little  package,  which  also  came.  I  declared  it  and  it  was  examined. 
I  had  to  pay  twenty-four  guilders  in  zeawan  or  five  guilders  in  the  coin  of  Holland. 
I  brought  it  to  the  house  and  looked  the  things-  all  over,  rejoicing  that  we  were 
finally  rid  of  that  miserable  set  and  the  ship,  the  freight  only  remaining  to  be  paid, 
which  was  fixed  at  four  guildersin  coin.  "We  went  first  to  Margaret  in  relation  to 
the  freight,  who  said  she  had  nothing  more  to  do  with  it,  and  that  we  must  speak 
to  her  husband  about  it,  which  it  was  not  convenient  to  do  that  evening,  and  we 
therefore  let  it  go,  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  speak  to  her  and  her  husband  with 
the  captain,  and  perhaps  also  Mr.  Jan. 

^  *  -X-  -x-  *  •}«■  -5^ 

*'  As  soon  as  we  had  dined  we  sent  off  our  letters,  and  this  being  all  accom- 
plished we  started  at  two  o'clock  for  Long  Island.  This  island  is  called  Long 
Islani,  not  so  much  because  it  is  longer  than  it  is  broad,  but  particularly  because  it 
is  the  Longest  island  in  this  region,  or  even  along  the  whole  coast  of  New  Nether- 
land,  Virginia  and  New  England.  It  is  one  hundred  and  forty-four  miles  in  length 
and  from  twenty -four  to  twenty-eight  miles  wide,  though  there  are  several  bays  and 
points  along  it,  and  consequently  it  is  much  broader  in  some  places  than  others, 
On  the  west  is  Staten  Island,  from  which  it  is  separated  about  a  mile,  and  the  great 
bay  over  which  you  see  the  Nevesincke.  "With  Staten  Island  it  makes  the  passage 
through  which  all  vessels  pass  in  sailing  from  or  to  the  Mahatans,  although  they  can 
go  through  the  Kil  Van  Kol,  which  is  on  the  other  side  of  Staten  Island.  The  ends 
of  these  islands  opposite  each  other  are  quite  high  land,  and  they  are  therefore 
called  the  Hoof  den  (Headlands),  from  a  comparison  with  the  Hoof  den  of  the  channel 
between  England  and  France  in  Europe.  On  the  north  is  the  island  of  Mahatans 
and  a  part  of  the  mainland.  On  the  east  is  the  sea,  which  shoots  up  to  New 
England,  and  in  which  there  are  various  islands.  On  the  south  is  the  great  ocean. 
The  outer  shore  of  this  island  has  before  it  several  small  islands  and  broken  laud, 
such  as  Coney  Island,*  a  low,  sandy  island  of  about  three  hours'  circuit,  its  westerly 
point  forming  with  Sandy  Hook  on  the  other  side  the  entrance  from  the  sea.  It  is 
oblong  in  shape,  and  is  grown  over  with  bushes.  Nobody  lives  upon  it,  but  it  is 
used  in  winter  for  keeping  cattle,  horses,  oxen,  hogs  and  others,  which  are  able  to 
obtain  there  sufficient  to  eat  the  whole  winter,  and  to  shelter  themselves  from  the 
cold  in  the  thickets.  This  island  is  not  so  cold  as  Long  Island  or  the  Mahatans,  or 
others,  like  some  islands  on  the  coast,  in  consequence  of  their  having  more  sea  breeze, 
and  of  the  saltncss  of  the  sea  breaking  upon  the  shoals,  rocks  and  reefs  with  which 
the  coast  is  beset.  There  is  also  the  Bear's  Islandf  and  others,  separated  from  Long 
Island  by  creeks  and  marshes  overflown  at  high  water.  There  are  also  on  this  sea 
coast  various  miry  places  like  the  Vlaeck:}:  and  others,  as  well  as  some  sand  bays  and 
hard  and  rocky  shores.  Long  Island  stretches  into  the  sea  for  the  most  part  east  by 
south  and  east-southeast.  None  of  its  land  is  very  high,  for  you  must  be  nearly 
opposite  Sandy  Hook  before  you  can  see  it.     There  is  a  hill  or  ridge  running  Icngth- 


*  H  C'onijnen  Eylant,  Rabbit's  island. 

t  H  Beeren  Eylant.    Now  called  Banen  Island. 

\  The  Wieringen  shoals  in  the  Zuyder  Zee  are  probably  meant. 


59 

Avise  through  the  island,  nearest  the  north  side  and  west  end  of  the  island. 
The  south  side  and  east  end  are  more  flat.  The  water  by  which  it  is 
separated  from  the  Mahat<ins,  is  improperly  called  the  East  River,  for  it 
is  nothing  else  than  an  arm  of  the  sea,  beginning  in  the  bay  on  the  west  and  ending 
in  the  sea  on  the  east.  After  forming  in  this  passage  several  islands,  this  water  is 
as  broad  before  the  city  as  the  Y  before  Amsterdam,  but  the  ebb  and  flood  tides  are 
stronger.  There  is  a  ferry  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  over  it  which  is  farmed  out 
by  the  year  and  yields  a  good  income,  as  it  is  a  considerable  thoroughfare,  this  island 
being  one  of  the  most  populous  places  in  this  vicinity.  A  considerable  number  of 
Indians  live  upon  it,  who  gain  their  subsistence  by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  they, 
as  well  as  others,  must  carry  their  articles  to  market  over  this  ferry  or  boat  them 
over,  as  it  is  free  to  every  one  to  use  his  own  boat,  if  he  have  one,  or  to  borrow  or 
hire  one  for  the  purpose.  The  fare  over  the  ferry  is  three  stivers*  in  zeawan  for 
each  person. 

Here  we  three  crossed  over,  my  comrade  Gerrit,  our  guide  and  myself,  in  a  row- 
boat,  as  it  happened,  which,  in  good  weather  and  tide,  carries  a  sail.  When  we 
came  over  we  found  there  Jan  Teunissen,  our  fellow-passenger,  who  had  promised 
us  so  much  good.  He  was  going  over  to  the  city  to  deliver  his  letters  and  transact 
other  business.  He  told  us  he  would  return  home  in  the  evening  and  we  would 
find  him  there.  We  went  on  up  the  hill  along  open  roads  and  a  little  woods,  through 
the  first  village,  called  Breukelen,  which  has  a  sm  ill  and  ugly  little  church  standing 
in  the  middle  of  the  road.f  Having  passed  through  here,  we  struck  off  to  the  right 
in  order  to  go  to  Gouanes.  We  went  upon  several  plantations  where  Gerrit  was 
acquainted  with  most  all  of  the  people,  who  made  us  very  welcome,  sharing  with  us 
bountifully  whatever  they  had,  whether  it  was  milk,  cider,  fruit,  or  tobacco,  and 
especially  and  first  and  most  of  all,  miserable  rum  or  brandy  which  had  been  brought 
from  Barbadoes  and  other  islands,  and  which  is  called  by  the  Dutch  kill-devil.  All 
these  people  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  most  of  them  extravagantly  so,  although  it  is 
very  dear  and  has  a  bad  taste.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  how  many  peach-trees  we 
passed  all  laden  with  fruit  to  breaking  down,  and  many  of  them  actually  broken 
down.  We  came  to  a  place  surrounded  with  such  trees  from  which  so  many  had 
fallen  off  that  the  ground  could  not  be  discerned,  and  you  could  not  put  your  foot 
down  without  trampling  them,  and  notwithstanding  such  large  quantities  had  fallen 
off,  the  trees  still  were  as  full  as  they  could  bear.  The  hogs  and  other  animals 
mostly  feed  on  them.  This  place  belongs  to  the  oldest  European  woman  in  the 
country.  We  went  immediately  into  her  house  where  she  lived  with  her  children. 
We  found  her  sitting  by  the  fire  smoking  tobacco  incessantly,  one  pipe  after  another. 
We  inquired  after  her  age,  which  the  children  told  us  was  a  hundred  years.  She 
was  from  Luyck  (Liege),  and  still  spoke  good  Waalsche  (old  French)  with  us.  She 
could  reason  very  well  sometimes,  and  at  other  times  she  could  not.  She  showed  us 
several  large  apples  as  good  fruit  of  that  country  and  different  from  that  of  Europe. 
She  had  been  about  fifty  years  now  in  the  country  and  had  above  seventy  children 

*  Less  than  half  a  cent  in  oiu'  money. 

t  Breukelen,  now  Brooklyn,  was  so  called  from  the  \'illage  of  that  name  in  the  province  of 
Utrecht.  The  church  here  refeiTed  to  was  built  in  1666,  and  was  the  first  one  in  Brooklyn.  When  it 
was  taken  down  does  not  appear.  "  A  second  church,"  says  Fmnnan,  in  his  JVotes  relating  to  Brooklyn, 
76,  "  was  erected  on  the  site  of  that  built  in  1666,  which  second  church  continued  standing  until  about 
1810,  when  a  new  and  substantial  church  was  erected  on  Joralemon  street,  and  the  old  one  taken 
down.  This  old  church  was  a  very  gloomy-looking  building  with  small  windows,  and  stood  in  the 
middle  of  the  highway  about  a  mile  fi'om  Brooklyn  ferry."  Of  this  second  church  a  view  is  given  in 
the  Brooklyn  M'mml  of  1863. 


60 

and  grandchildren.  She  saw  the  third  generation  after  her.  Her  mother  had  attended 
women  in  childbed  in  her  one  hundred  and  sixth  year,  and  was  one  hundred  and  eleven 
or  twelve  years  old  when  she  died.  We  tasted  here  for  the  first  time,  smoked  twaelft* 
(twelfth),  a  fish  so  called  because  it  is  caught  in  season  next  after  the  elftj;  (eleventh). 
It  was  salted  a  little  and  then  smoked,  and  although  it  was  now  a  year  old,  it  was 
still  perfectly  good  and  in  flavor  not  inferior  to  smoked  salmon.  We  drank  here, 
also,  the  first  new  cider,  which  was  very  fine. 

"  We  proceeded  on  to  Grouanes,  a  place  so  called,  where  we  arrived  in  the  even- 
ing ai  one  of  the  best  friends  of  Gerrit,  named  Symon.  He  was  very  glad  to  see 
us,  and  so  was  his  wife.  He  took  us  into  the  house,  and  entertained  us  exceedingly 
well.  We  found  a  good  fire,  half-way  up  the  chimney,  of  clear  oak  and  hickory,  of 
which  they  made  not  the  least  scruple  of  burning  profusely.  We  let  it  penetrate  us 
thoroughly.  There  had  been  already  thrown  upon  it,  to  be  roasted,  a  pail-full 
of  Gouanes  oysters,  which  are  the  best  in  the  country.  They  are  fully  as  good  as 
those  of  England,  and  better  than  those  we  eat  at  Falmouth.  I  had  to  try  some  of 
them  raw.  They  are  large  and  full,  some  of  them  not  less  than  a  foot  long,  and 
they  grow  sometimes  ten,  twelve,  and  sixteen  together,  and  are  then  like  a  piece  of 
rock.  Others  are  young  and  small.  In  consequence  of  the  great  quantities  of  them* 
everybody  keeps  the  shells  for  the  purpose  of  burning  them  into  lime.  They  pickle 
the  oysters  in  small  casks,  and  send  them  to  Barbadoes  and  the  other  islands.  We 
had  for  supper  a  roasted  haunch  of  venison,  which  he  had  bought  of  the  Indians  for 
three  guilders  and  a  half  of  seewant,  that  is,  fifteen  stuivers  of  Dutch  money  (fifteen 
cents),  and  which  weighed  thirty  pounds.  The  meat  was  exceedingly  tender  and 
good,  and  also  quite  fat.  It  had  a  slight  spicy  flavor.  We  were  also  served  with 
wild  turkey,  which  was  also  fat  and  of  a  good  flavor ;  and  a  wild  goose,  but  that 
was  rather  dry.  Every  thing  we  had  was  the  natural  production  of  the  country. 
We  saw  here,  lying  in  a  heap,  a  whole  hill  of  watermelons,  which  were  as  large  as 
pumpkins,  and  which  Symon  was  going  to  take  to  the  city  to  sell.  They  were  very 
u-ood,  though  there  is  a  difference  between  them  and  those  of  the  Caribly  islands  ; 
but  this  may  be  owing  to  its  being  late  in  the  season,  as  these  were  the  last  pulling. 
It  was  very  late  at  night  when  we  went  to  rest  in  a  Kermis  bed,  as  it  is  called,  in 
the  comer  of  the  hearth,  along  side  of  a  good  fire. 

"  30th,  Saturday.  Early  this  morning  the  husband  and  wife  set  off  for  the  city 
with  their  marketing ;  and  we,  having  explored  the  land  in  the  vicinity,  left  after 
breakfast.  We  went  a  part  of  the  way  through  a  woods  and  fine,  new-made  land, 
and  so  along  the  shore  to  the  west  end  of  the  island,  called  Najack.X  As  we  pro- 
ceeded along  the  shore,  we  found,  among  other  curiosities,  a  highly-marbled  stone, 
very  hard,  in  which  we  saw  Muscovy  glass  lying  in  layers  between  the  clefts,  and 
how  it  was  struck  or  cut  out.  We  broke  off  a  small  piece  with  some  difficulty,  and 
picked  out  a  little  glass  in  the  splits.  Continuing  onward  from  there,  we  came  to 
the  plantation  of  the  Najack  Indians,  which  was  planted  with  maize,  or  Turkish 
wheat.  We  soon  heard  a  noise  of  pounding,  like  thrashing,  and  went  to  the  place 
whence  it  proceeded,  and  found  there  an  old  Indian  woman  busily  employed  beating 
Turkish  beans  out  of  the  pods  by  means  of  a  stick,  which  she  did  with  astonishing 
force  and  dexterity.  Gerrit  inquired  of  her,  in  the  Indian  language,  which  he  spoke 
perfectly  well,  how  old  she  was,  and  she  answered  eighty  years ;  at  which  we  were 
still  more  astonished  that  so  old  a  woman  should  still  have  so  much  strength  and 


*  The  striped  bass. 

1  The  shad. 

X  Fort  Hamilton,  which  is  surrounded,  in  a  great  measure,  by  a  marsh,  and  hence  is  here  called 


an  island. 


61 

courage  to  work  as  she  did.  We  went  from  thence  to  her  habitation,  where  we 
found  the  whole  troop  together,  consisting  of  seven  or  eight  families,  and  twenty  or 
twenty-two  persons,  I  should  think.  Their  house  was  low  and  long,  about  sixty 
feet  long  and  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  wide.  The  bottom  was  earth,  the  sides  and 
roof  were  made  of  reed  and  the  bark  of  chestnut  trees  ;  the  posts,  or  columns,  were 
limbs  of  trees  stuck  in  the  ground,  and  all  fastened  together.  The  top,  or  ridge  of 
the  roof,  was  open  about  half  a  foot  wide,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  in  order  to  let 
the  smoke  escape,  in  place  of  a  chimney.  On  the  sides,  or  walls,  of  the  house,  the 
roof  was  so  low  that  you  could  hardly  stand  under  it.  The  entrances,  or  doors, 
which  were  at  both  ends,  were  so  small  that  they  had  to  stoop  down  and  squeeze 
themselves  to  get  through  them.  The  doors  were  made  of  reed,  or  flat  bark.  In 
the  whole  building  there  was  no  lime,  stone,  iron,  or  lead.  They  build  their  fire  in 
the  middle  of  the  floor,  according  to  the  number  of  families  which  live  in  it,  so  that 
from  one  end  to  the  other  each  of  them  boils  its  own  pot,  and  eats  when  it  likes,  not 
only  the  families  by  themselves,  but  each  Indian  alone,  according  as  he  is  hungry , 
at  all  hours,  morning,  noon,  and  night.  By  each  fire  are  the  cooking  utensils,  con- 
sisting of  a  pot,  a  bowl,  or  calabash,  and  a  spoon  also  made  of  a  calabash.  These 
are  all  that  relate  to  cooking.  They  lie  upon  mats,  with  their  feet  towards  the  fire 
on  each  side  of  it.  They  do  not  sit  much  upon  any  thing  raised  up,  but,  for  the 
most  part,  sit  on  the  ground,  or  squat  on  their  ankles.  Their  other  household 
articles  consist  of  a  calabash  of  water,  out  of  which  they  drink,  a  small  basket  in 
which  to  cai-ry  and  keep  their  maize  and  small  beans,  and  a  knife.  The  implements 
are,  for  tillage,  a  small,  sharp  stone,  and  nothing  more  ;  for  hunting,  a  gun  and 
pouch  for  powder  and  lead;  for  fishing,  a  canoe  without  mast  or  sail,  and  without  a 
nail  in  any  part  of  it,  though  it  is  sometimes  full  forty  feet  in  length,  fish-hooks  and 
lines,  and  scoop  to  paddle  with  in  place  of  oars.  I  do  not  know  whether  there  are 
not  some  others  of  a  trifling  nature.  All  who  live  in  one  house  are  generally  of  one 
stock  or  descent,  as  father  and  mother,  with  their  offspring.  Their  bread  is  maize, 
pounded  in  a  block  by  a  stone,  but  not  fine.  This  is  mixed  with  water,  and  made 
into  a  cake,  which  they  bake  under  the  hot  ashes.  They  gave  us  a  small  piece  when 
\^e  entered,  and  although  the  grains  were  not  ripe,  and  it  was  half-baked  and  coarse 
grains,  we  nevertheless  had  to  -^at  it,  or,  at  least,  not  throw  it  away  before  them, 
which  they  would  have  regarded  as  a  great  sin,  or  a  great  affront.  We  chewed  a 
little  of  it  loith  long  teeth,  and  managed  to  hide  it  so  they  did  not  see  it.  We  had 
also  to  drink  out  of  their  calabashes  the  water  which  was  their  drink,  and  which 
was  very  good.  We  saw  here  the  Indians  who  came  on  board  the  ship  when  we 
arrived.  They  were  all  very  joyful  at  the  visit  of  our  Gerrit,  who  was  an  old 
acquaintance  of  theirs,  and  had  heretofore  long  resided  there.  We  presented  them 
with  two  jews-harps,  which  much  pleased  them,  and  they  immediately  commenced 
to  play  upon  them,  which  they  could  do  tolerably  well.  Some  of  their  patroons 
(chiefs),  some  of  whom  spoke  good  Dutch,  and  are  also  their  medicine-men  and  sur- 
geons as  well  as  their  teachers,  were  bu^y  making  shoes  of  deer-leather,  which  they 
understand  how  to  make  soft  by  continually  working  it  in  their  hands.  They  had 
dogs,  fowls,  and  hogs,  which  they  learn  by  degrees  from  the  Europeans  how  to 
manage  better.  They  had,  also,  peach  trees,  which  were  well  laden.  Towards  the 
last,  we  asked  them  for  some  peache^},  and  they  answered  :  *  Go  and  pick  them,' 
which  showed  their  politeness.  However,  in  order  not  to  offend  them,  we  went  off 
and  pulled  some.  Although  they  are  such  a  poor,  miserable  people,  they  are,  never- 
theless, licentious  and  proud,  and  given  to  knavery  and  scoffing.  Seeing  a  very  old 
'woman  among  them,  we  inquired  how  old  she  was,  when  some  young  fellows, 
laughing  and  jeering,  answered  twenty  years,  while  it  was  evident  to  us  she  was  not 
less  than  a  hundred.     We  observed  here  the  manner  in  which  they  travel  with  their 


62 

children,  a  -woman  having  one  which  she  carried  on  her  back.  The  little  thing- 
clung  tight  around  her  neck  like  a  cat,  where  it  was  kept  secure  by  means  of  a  piece 
of  daffels,  their  usual  garment.  Its  head,  back,  and  buttocks,  were  entirely  flat. 
How  that  happened  to  be  so  we  will  relate  hereafter,  as  we  now  only  make  mention 
of  what  we  saw. 

"  4th,  Wednesday,  We  slept  for  the  night  in  our  old  place.  In  the  morning 
the  horses  were  harnessed  to  the  wagon  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  us  to  the 
city,  and  bringing  back  some  medicines  which  had  arrived  for  him  (Jaques) 
from  Holland  in  our  ship.  We  breakfasted  to  our  full,  and  rode  first  to  the  bay, 
where  we  had  left  our  traveling  bag.  Seeing  there  was  nothing  to  be  accomplished 
with  our  Jan  Theunissen,  all  his  great  promises  having  vanished  without  the  least 
result,  though  they  had  cost  us  dearly  enough,  we  let  that  rest  quiet,  and  taking 
our  leave,  rode  on  to  7  Vlacke  Bos,  a  village  situated  about  an  hour  and  a  half's  dis- 
tance from  there,  upon  the  same  plain,  which  is  very  large.  This  village  seems  to 
have  better  farms  than  the  bay,  and  yields  full  as  much  revenue.  Riding  through 
it,  we  came  to  the  woods  and  hills,  which  are  very  stony  and  uncomfortable  to  ride 
over.  We  rode  over  them,  and  passed  through  the  village  of  Bi^eukelen  to  the  ferry, 
and  leaving  the  wagon  there,  we  crossed  over  the  river  and  arrived  at  home  at  noon, 
where  we  were  able  to  rest  a  little,  and  where  our  old  people  were  glad  to  see  us. 
We  sent  back  to  Jaques  half  of  our  tincture  calimanaris,  and  half  of  our  balsam 
sulphureous,  and  some  other  things.  He  had  been  of  service  to  us  in  several 
respects,  as  he  promised  to  be,  and  that  with  perfect  willingness. 
***  ***** 

"6th,  Friday.  We  remained  ,  in  the  house  during  the  forenoon,  but  after 
having  dined  we  went  out  about  two  o  clock  to  explore  the  island  of  Mamithans. 
This  island  runs  east  and  west,  or  somewhat  more  northerly.  On  the  north  side  of 
it  is  the  North  river,  by  which  it  is  separated  from  the  main  land  on  the  north ;  on 
the  east  end  it  is  separated  from  the  main  land  by  a  creek,  or  rather  a  branch 
of  the  North  river,  emptying  itself  into  the  East  river.  They  can  go  over  this 
creek  at  dead  low  water,  upon  rocks  and  reefs,  at  the  place  called  Spyt  den  duyvel. 
This  creek  coming  into  the  East  river  forms  with  it  the  two  Barents  islands.'^ 
At  the  west  end  of  these  two  running  waters,  that  is,  where  they  come  together  to 
the  east  of  these  islands,  they  make,  with  the  rocks  and  reefs,  such  a  frightful  eddy 
and  whirlpool  that  it  is  exceedingly  dangerous  to  pass  through  them,  especially 
with  small  boats,  of  which  there  are  some  lost  every  now  and  then  and  the  persons 
in  them  drowned ;  but  experience  has  taught  men  the  way  of  passing  through  them 
with  less  danger.  Large  vessels  have  always  less  danger  because  they  are  not 
capable  of  being  carried  along  so  quickly.  There  are  two  places  where  such  whirl- 
ing of  the  stream  occurs,  which  are  on  account  of  the  danger  and  frightfulness 
called  the  Great  and  Little  Hellgate.  After  these  two  streams  are  united,  the 
island  of  Manatlians  is  separated  on  the  south  from  Long  Island  by  the  East  river, 
which,  beginning  at  the  bay  before  New  York,  runs  eastwardly,  after  forming  several 
islands,  again  into  the  sea.  This  island  is  about  seven  hours  distance  in  lengthy 
but  it  is  not  a  full  hour  broad.  The  sides  are  indented  with  bays,  'coves,  and  creeks. 
It  is  almost  entirely  taken  up,  that  is,  the  land  is  held  by  private  owners,  but  not  half 
of  it  is  cultivated.  Much  of  it  is  good  wood  land.  The  west  end,  on  which  the  city 
lies,  is  entirely  cleared  for  more  than  an  hours  distance,  though  that  is  the  poorest 
ground  ;  the  best  being  on  the  east  and  north  side.     There  are  many  brooks  of  fresh 

*  Now  called  Great  and  Little  Bam  Islands. 


63 

water  running  through  it,  pleasant  and  proper  for  man  and  beast  to  drink,  as  well 
as  agreeable  to  behold,  affording  cool  and  pleasant  resting-places,  but  especially 
suitable  places  for  the  construction  of  mills,  for  although  there  is  no  overflow  of 
water  yet  it  can  be  shut  off  and  so  used.  A  little  eastward  of  Nieu  IlaerUm  there 
are  two  ridges  of  very  high  rocks,  with  a  considerable  space  between  them,  display- 
ing themselves  very  majestically,  and  inviting  all  men  to  acknowledge  in  them  the 
majesty,  grandeur,  power,  and  glory  of  their  Creator,  who  has  impressed  such  marks 
upon  them.  Between  them  runs  the  road  to  Spyt  den  duyvel.  The  one  to  the  north  is 
most  apparent ;  the  south  ridge  is  covered  with  earth  on  its  north  side,  but  it  can  be 
seen  from  the  water  or  from  the  main  land  beyond  to  the  south.  The  soil  between 
these  ridges  is  very  good,  though  a  little  hilly  and  stony,  and  would  be  very  suitable, 
in  my  opinion,  for  planting  viney.ards,  in  consequence  of  its  being  shut  off  on  both 
sides  from  the  winds  which  would  most  injure  them,  and  is  very  warm.  We  found 
blue  grapes  along  the  road  which  were  very  good  and  sweet,  and  as  good  as  any  I 
have  tasted  in  the  Fatherland. 

We  went  from  the  city,  following  the  Broadway,  over  the  valey,  or  the  fresh 
water.  Upon  both  sides  of  this  way  were  many  habitations  of  negroes,  mulattoes, 
and  whites.  These  negroes  were  formerly  the  proper  slaves  of  the  West  India 
Company,  but,  in  consequence  of  the  frequent  changes  and  conquests  of  the  country, 
they  have  obtained  their  freedom  and  settled  themselves  down  where  they  have 
thought  proper,  and  thus  on  this  road,  where  they  have  ground  enough  to  live  on 
with  their  families.  We  left  the  village  called  the  Bouwerij,  lying  on  the  right 
hand,  and  went  through  the  woods  to  New  Harlem,  a  tolerably  large  village  sit- 
uated on  the  south  side  of  the  island,  directly  opposite  the  place  where  the  north- 
east creek  and  the  East  river  come  together,  situated  about  three  hours'  journey 
from  New  Amsterdam,  like  as  old  Harlem  in  Europe  is  situated  about  three  hours' 
distance  from  old  Am&terdam.  As  our  guide,  G-errit,  had  some  business  here,  and 
found  many  acquaintances,  we  remained  over  night  at  the  house  of  rne  Geresolveert* 
scout  (sheriff  or  constable)  of  the  place,  who  had  formerly  lived  in  Brazil,  and  whose 
heart  was  still  full  of  it.  This  house  was  constantly  filled  with  people  all  the  time 
drinking  for  the  most  part  that  execrable  rum.  He  had  also  the  best  cider  we  have 
tasted.  Among  the  crowd  we  found  a  person  of  quality,  an  Englishman,  named 
Captain  Cartaret,  whose  father  is  in  great  favor  with  the  king,  and  he  himself  had 
assisted  in  several  exploits  in  the  king's  service.  He  was  administrator  or  captain- 
general  of  the  English  forces  which  went,  in  1660,  to  retake  St.  Kitts,  which  the 
French  had  entirely  conquered,  and  were  repulsed.  He  had  also  filled  some  high 
office,  in  the  ship  of  the  Duke  of  York,  with  two  hundred  infantry  under  his  com- 
mand. The  king  has  given  to  his  father.  Sir  G-eorge  Cartaret,  the  entire  govern- 
ment of  the  lands  west  of  the  North  river,  in  New  Netherland,  with  power  to 
appoint  as  governor  whom  he  pleases ;  and  at  this  present  time  there  is  a  governor 
over  it  by  his  appointment,  another  Cartaret,  his  nephew,  I  believe,  who  resides  at 
Elizabethtown,  in  New  Jersey.f  From  this  Cartaret  in  England  the  Quakers  have 
purchased  the  privilege  of  a  government  of  their  own,  over  a  large  tract  of  terri- 
tory which  they  have  bought  and  settled  within  his  dominion  ;  and  it  is  but  little 
different  from  their  having  bought  the  entire  right  of  government  of  the  whole  of 


*  Resolved,  a  Christian  name. 

t  Philip  Caitaret,  the  brother,  not  the  nephew,  of  Sir  George,  is  the  person  here  meant.  He 
was  appointed  governor  of  New  Jersey,  under  the  joint  proprietorship  of  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir 
Geoi^e  Cartaret,  in  16G4,  and  of  East  Jersey  in  1674,  under  the  sole  grant  to  Sir  George.  He  resigned 
in  1682,  and  died  in  December  of  that  year,  in  this  country,  leaving  a  widow,  the  daughter  of  Richard 
Smith,  Smithtown,  on  Long  ls\sind.—  W fiitehead's  East  Jersey  under  the  Proprietors,  36,  84. 


64 

Ms  land.  This  son  is  a  very  profligate  person.  He  married  a  merchant's  daughter 
here,  and  has  so  lived  with  his  "wife  that  her  father  has  been  compelled  to  take  her 
home  again.  He  runs  about  among  the  farmers,  and  stays  where  he  can  find  most 
to  drink,  and  sleeps  in  barns  on  the  straw.  If  he  conducted  himself  properly,  he 
could  be,  not  only  governor  here,  but  hold  higher  positions,  for  he  has  studied  the 
moralities,  and  seems  to  have  been  of  a  good  understanding ;  but  that  is  all  now 
drowned.  His  father,  who  will  not  acknowledge  him  as  his  son,  as  before,  allows 
him  yearly  as  much  only  as  is  necessary  for  him  to  live. 

"  7th,  Saturday.  This  morning,  about  half-past  six,  we  set  out  from  the  village 
in  order  to  go  to  the  end  of  the  island  ;  but  before  we  left  we  did  hot  omit  supply- 
ing ourselves  with  peaches,  which  grew  in  an  orchard  along  the  road.  The  whole 
ground  was  covered  with  them  and  with  apples,  lying  upon  the  new  grain  with 
which  the  orchard  was  planted.  The  peaches  were  the  most  delicious  we  had  yet 
eaten.  We  proceeded  on  our  way,  and  when  we  were  not  far  from  the  point  of 
Spyt  den  duyvel  we  could  see  on  our  left  hand  the  rocky  cliffs  of  the  main  land  on 
the  other  side  of  the  North  river,  these  cliffs  standing  straight  up  and  down,  with 
the  grain,  just  as  if  they  were  antimony.  We  crossed  over  the  Spyt  den  duyvel  in  a 
canoe,  and  paid  nine  stuivers  fare  for  us  three,  which  was  very  dear.  We  followed 
the  opposite  side  of  the  land,  and  came  to  the  house  of  one  Valentyn,  a  great 
acquaintance  with  our  G-errit.  He  had  gone  to  the  city,  but  his  wife,  though  she 
did  not  know  G-errit  or  us,  was  so  much  rejoiced  to  see  Hollanders  that  she  hardly 
knew  what  to  do  for  us.  She  set  before  us  what  she  had.  We  left  after  breakfast- 
ing there.  Her  son  showed  us  the  way  and  we  came  to  a  road  entirely  covered 
with  peaches.  We  asked  the  boy  why  they  left  them  to  lie  there  and  they  did  not 
let  the  hogs  eat  them.  He  answered,  we  do  not  know  what  to  do  with  them,  there 
were  so  many  ;  the  hogs  are  satiated  with  them.,  and  will  not  eat  any  more.  From 
this  we  may  judge  of  the  quantity  of  them.  We  pursued  our  way  now  a  small 
distance  through  the  woods  and  over  the  hills,  then  back  again  along  the  shore  to  a 
point,  where  one  Webblingh,  an  Englishman,  lived,  who  was  standing  ready  to  cross 
over.  He  carried  us  over  with  him,  and  refused  to  take  any  pay  for  our  passage, 
offering  us  at  the  same  time  some  of  his  rum,  a  liquor  which  is  everywhere.  We 
were  now  again  at  New  Harlem,  and  dined  with  Gerosolveert,  at  whose  house  we 
slept  the  night  before,  and  who  made  us  welcome.  It  was  now  two  o'clock ;  and 
leaving  there  we  crossed  over  the  island,  which  takes  about  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  to  do,  and  came  to  the  North  river,  which  we  followed  a  little  within  the 
woods,  to  Sajjpoko.nikke*  Gerrit  having  a  sister  and  friends  there  we  rested  our- 
selves, and  drank  some  good  beer  which  refreshed  us.  We  continued  along  the 
shore  to  the  city,  where  we  arrived  in  an  hour  in  the  evening,  very  much  fatigued, 
having  walked  this  day  about  forty  miles.  I  must  add,  in  passing  through  this 
island  we  sometimes  encountered  such  a  sweet  smell  in  the  air  that  we  stood  still, 
because  we  did  not  know  what  it  was  we  were  meeting." 

"  14th,  Saturday.  Being  under  sail,  as  I  have  said,  it  was  so  entirely  calm  that 
we  could  only  float  with  the  stream  until  we  came  to  the  Schutters  island,  where 
we  obtained  the  tide  again.  It  was  now  about  four  o'clock.  In  order  to  protect 
ourselves  from  the  air,  which  was  very  cold  and  piercing,  we  crept  under  the  sail, 
which  was  very  old  and  ^full  of  holes.  The  tide  having  run  out  by  daylight  we 
came  under  sail  again,  with  a  good  wind,  which  brought  us  to  the  city  at  about 
eight  o'clock,  for  which  we  were  glad,  and  returning  thanks  to  God,  betook  our- 
selves to  rest. 


*  According  to  Judge  Benson  this  was  the  Indian  name  of  the  point,  afterward  known  as 
Greenwich,  on  the  north  side  of  the  ciiy.— New  York  Historical  Collections,  second  series,  84. 


65 

**15th,  Sunday.  We  went  at  noon  to-day  to  hear  the  English  minister,  whose 
services  took  place  after  the  Dutch  church  was  out.  There  were  not  above  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  people  in  the  church.  The  first  thing-  that  occurred  was  the  reading 
of  all  their  prayers  and  ceremonies  out  of  the  prayer-book,  as  is  done  in  all  Episcopal 
churches.  A  young  man  then  went  into  the  pulpit  and  commenced  preaching,  who 
thought  he  was  performing  wonders ;  but  he  had  a  little  book  in  his  hand  out  of 
which  he  read  his  sermon,  which  was  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  half  an  hour 
long.*  With  this  the  services  were  concluded,  at  which  we  could  not  be  suffi- 
ciently astonished.     This  was  all  that  happened  with  us  to-day." 

From  the  year  1674,  under  Edmund  Andross,  commenced  the  new 
regime  in  New  York.  Andross  was  a  public  officer  of  ability,  but  well 
known  for  his  imperious  and  despotic  disposition.  The  people  imme- 
diately petitioned  their  royal  master,  the  Duke  of  York,  for  an  Assembly 
of  Representatives;  but  James,  who  regarded  popular  bodies  as  dan- 
gerous, refused  their  prayer,  with  the  question  :  "  What  do  they  want 
with  Assemblies  ?  They  have  the  Court  of  Sessions  presided  over  by  the 
Governor  ;  or,  if  this  is  not  enough,  they  can  appeal  to  me  !"  Such  was 
the  English  spirit  of  oppression  a  century  before  it  was  resisted  in  blood 
at  Golden  and  Bunker  Hills.  Upon  learning  of  this  reply  of  Andross, 
Sir  William  Berkly,  Governor  of  Virginia,  "  thanked  God  that  there  were 
neither  free-schools  nor  printing-presses  in  the  colony,"  fervently  adding, 
"  God  keep  us  from  both  !" 

Governor  Andross,  however — much  as  he  may  in  after  years  have 
merited  from  the  people  of  the  Eastern  Colonies  the  title  of  the 
"  Tyrant  of  New*  England" — governed  New  York  with  wisdom  and 
moderation.  Desirous  of  establishing  himself  on  a  popular  basis  with 
the  people,  one  of  his  first  official  acts  was  to  appoint,  in  1676,  a  native 
Hollander — Nicholas  Meyer — Mayor  of  the  city.  The  selection  was  a 
good  one.  Meyer  was  one  of  the  most  enterprising  of  traders,  and  a  most 
respectable  burgher ;  and  although  the  duties  of  his  office  could  not  have 
been  particularly  onerous  at  a  time  when  only  three  hundred  and  one  names 
were  recorded  upon  the  list  of  tax-payers,  yet  what  little  he  did  was  done 
honestly  and  well — a  fact  that  cannot  truthfully  be  stated  of  New  York 
Mayors  of  later  generations.  Nor  did  Andross  strive  to  be  popular  alone . 
Aware  that  no  government  can  be  a  stable  one  unless  placed  on  a  basis  of 
sound  morality,  he  at  once  established  ordinances  for  regulating  the  public 
morals  and  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  city.  ' '  The  city-gates  were  ordered 
to  be  closed  at  night  at  nine  o'clock,  and  to  be  opened  at  daylight.  The 
citizens  were  required  to  keep  watch  by  turns,  and  were  fined  for  absence 
or  neglect  of  duty ;  and  all  profanity  and  drunkenness  were  strictly  for- 
bidden.   Every  citizen  was  ordered  to  provide  himself  with  a  good  musket 


*  The  only  English  minister  in  the  whole  province  at  this  time  was  attached  to  the  garrison  at 
the  City  of  New  York.  This  was  the  Rev.  Charles  Wooley,  a  graduate  of  Emanuel  College,  Cam- 
bridge, in  1677.  He  came  to  ISrew  York  in  August,  1678,  and  left  there  for  England  in  July,  1680. 
He  was  the  author  of  a  small  volume  with  the  title  of  A  Two  Tears'  Journal  in  New  York,  <&c. 
published  in  1701,  and  recently  republished,  with  notes  by  Dr.  E.  B.  O'Callaghan,  in  Mr.  Gowans' 
interesting  series  qf  early  works  on  the  colonies.— iVb<e  to  the  Labadists. 

5 


66 

or  firelock  with  at  least  six  charges  of  powder  and  ball,  and  to  appear  - 
\\itK  good  arms  before  the  Captain's  colors,  at  the  first  beating  of  the 
drum." 

In  1677  the  first  native-born  Mayor  was  appointed  to  the  Mayoralty. 
This  was  Stephanus  Van  Cortlandt,  a  large  property-holder,  and  after 
whom  Cortlandt  street  is  named.  Under  his  administration  seven  public 
wells  were  placed  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  chiefly  as  a  protection 
agamst  fires. 

Meanwhile  the  necessity  of  conciliating  the  Iroquois — the  most 
powerful  Indian  confederacy,  at  that  time,  in  America — had  received 
little  or  no  attention  from  the  people  of  New  York  or  their  Government. 
The  first  three  English  Governors  of  the  colony,  or  rather  lieutenants  of 
the  Duke  of  York,  viz.:  Colonels  Nicholls,  Lovelace,  and  Major,  after- 
ward Sir  Edmund  Andross,  bestowed  but  inconsiderable  attention  upon 
the  Five  Nations,  not  seeming  to  appreciate  either  the  importance  of  their 
trade  or  of  their  friendship.  Still  the  moral  hatred  they  had  borne  for 
the  French  incHned  them  rather  to  prefer  the  friendship  of  the  English. 
But  the  Duke  of  York,  in  his  affection  for  the  Church  of  Eome,  shutting 
his  eyes  to  what  unquestionably  should  have  been  the  true  policy  of 
the  English  toward  the  Indians,  had  conceived  the  idea  of  handing  the 
Confederates  over  to  the  Holy  See,  as  converts  to  its  forms,  if  not  to  its 
faith.  Hence  the  efforts  to  mediate  the  peace  between  the  Iroquois  and 
the  French  of  1667,  which  were  followed  by  invitations  to  the  Jesuit 
missionaries  from  the  English,  to  settle  among  the  Confederates,  and  by 
persuasions  to  the  latter  to  receive  them.  The  Mohawks  were  either  too 
wise,  or  too  bitter  in  spirit  toward  the  French,  to  listen  to  the  proposal. 
But  not  so  with  the  other  nations  of  the  alliance  ;  and  the  Oneidas,  Ononda- 
gas,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas  opened  their  arms  to  the  insidious  stangers  in 
holy  garb,  causmg  infinite  mischief  in  after  years,  as  will  appear  in  the 
sequel. 

This  peace  of  1667  continued  several  years,  during  which  time  both 
the  English  and  French  prosecuted  their  trade  with  the  Indians  to  a 
great  and  profitable  extent.  The  French,  especially,  evinced  a  degree  of 
energy,  and  a  spirit  of  enterprise,  almost  unexampled  in  the  history  of 
colonization — planting  their  trading-posts,  under  the  lead  of  the  adven- 
turous La  Salle,  at  all  the  commanding  points  of  the  great  lakes,  and 
across  the  country ^of  the  Illinois  to  the  Mississippi ;  and  stealing  the  hearts 
of  the  Indians  through  the  arts  of  the  crafty  ministers  of  the  order  of  Jesus, 
whom  they  sprinkled  among  the  principal  nations  over  the  whole  country 
of  the  exploration.  By  these  bold  advances  deep  into  the  interior,  and  the 
insiduous  wiles  which  everywhere  characterized  their  movements,  the 
French  acquired  a  decided  advantage  over  the  English  colonists  in  the 
fur  trade,  which  it  was  evidently  their  design  exclusively  to  engross ; 
while  the  direct  tendency  of  the  Duke  of  York's  policy,  originating  in 
blindness  and  bigotry,  was  to  produce  exactly  the  same  result. 


67 

The  error  was  soon  perceived  by  Colonel  Dongan,  who  arrived  in  the 
colony  as  the  successor  of  Major  Andross,  in  1683.  Though  his  religious 
faith  was  in  harmony  with  that  of  his  royal  master,  he  nevertheless 
possessed  an  enlarged  understanding,  with  a  disposition,  as  a  Civil  Gov- 
ernor, to  look  more  closely  after  the  interests  of  the  crown  than  those  of  the 
crosier.  He  had  not  been  long  at  the  head  of  the  colony  before  he  per- 
ceived the  mistakes  of  his  predecessors  in  the  conduct  of  its  Indian  relations. 
In  fighting-men,  the  Five  Nations  at  that  time  numl^ered  ten  times  more 
than  they  did  half  a  century  afterward ;  *  and  the  Governor  saw  at  once 
their  importance  as  a  wall  of  separation  between  the  English  colonies  and 
the  French.  He  saw,  also,  the  importance  of  their  trade,  which  the 
Jesuit  priests  were  largely  influential  in  diverting  to  Canada.  He  saw 
that  M.  de  Courcelles  had  erected  a  fort  at  Cadaraqui,  within  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Iroquois,  on  the  north  side  of  Lake  Ontario,!  and  that  La 
Salle  had  built  a  bark  of  ten  tons  upon  that  lake,  and  another  of  fifty 
upon  Lake  Erie,  planting  also  a  stockade  at  Niagara.  He  saw  that  the 
French  were  intercepting  the  trade  of  the  EngHsh  upon  the  lakes,  and 
that  the  priests  had  succeeded  in  seducing  numbers  of  the  Mohawks  and 
river  Indians  away  from  their  own  country,  and  planting  their  colonies 
upon  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Montreal, 
through  whose  agency  an  illicit  trade  had  been  estabhshed  with  the  City 
of  Albany,  by  reason  of  which  Montreal,  instead  of  Albany,  was  becom- 
ing the  principal  depot  of  the  Indian  trade.  He  saw,  in  a  word,  the  subtle 
followers  of  Ignatius  Loyola  were  rapidly  alienating  the  affections  of 
the  Confederates  from  the  English  and  transferring  them  to  the  French, 
and  that  unless  the  policy  respecting  them  was  changed,  the  influence  of 
the  English  would,  at  no  distant  day,  be  at  an  end  with  them.  Nor  had 
the  priests  confined  their  efforts  simply  to  moral  suasion  ;  but,  as  though 
aiming  to  separate  the  Confederates  from  the  Eaglish  at  a  blow,  and  by 
a  gulf  so  wide  and  deep  as  to  be  impassable,  they  had  instigated  them  to 
commit  positive  hostihties  upon  the  frontier  settlements  of  Maryland 
and  Virginia. 

Having  made  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  these  matters, 
Colonel  Dongan  lost  no  time  in  seeking  to  countervail  the  influence  of 
the  French,  and  to  bring  back  the  Indians  to  a  cordial  understanding 
with  his  own  people.  His  instructions  from  home  were  to  encourage  the 
Jesuit  missionaries.  These  he  not  only  disregarded,  but  he  ordered  the 
missionaries  away,  and  forbade  the  Five  Nations  to  entertain  them.  It 
is  true  this  order  was  never  enforced  to  the  letter,  the  priests,  some  of 
them  at  least,  maintaining  a  foothold  at  several  points  of  the  Confederacy 
— dubious  at  times,  certainly — but  yet  maintaining  it  for  three-quarters 


*  Memoir  of  Dr.  Golden,  con'3erniag  the  fur  trade,  presented  to  Govarnor  Bur- 
nett in  1724. 

« 
f  The  site  of  Kinarston,  Canada  West. 


68 

of  a  century  afterward.  Still,  the  measures  of  conciliation  adopted  by 
Colonel  Dongan  made  a  strong  and  favorable  impression  upon  the 
Indians. 

Availing  himself  of  the  difficulty  between  the  Confederates  and  Vir- 
ginia, consequent  upon  the  outrages  just  adverted  to  as  having  been  in- 
stigated by  the  priests,  Colonel  Dongan  was  instrumental  in  procuring  a 
convention  of  the  Five  Nations,  at  Albany,  in  1684,  to  meet  Lord  Howard; 
of  Effingham,  Grovernor  of  Virginia,  at  which  he  (Dongan)  was  likewise 
present.  This  meeting,  or  council,  was  attended  by  the  happiest  results. 
The  difficulties  with  Virginia  were  adjusted,  and  a  covenant  made  with 
Lord  Howard  for  "preventing  further  depredations.*  But  what  was  of 
yet  greater  importance,  Colonel  Dongan  succeeded  in  completely  gaining 
the  affections  of  the  Indians,  who  conceived  for  him  the  warmest  esteem. 
They  even  asked  that  the  arms  of  the  Duke  of  York  might  be  put  upon 
their  castles,  a  request  which  it  need  not  be  said  was  most  readily  com- 
phed  with,  since,  should  it  afterward  become  necessary,  the  Governor 
might  find  it  convenient  to  construe  it  into  an  act  of  at  least  partial  sub- 
mission to  English  authority,  although  it  has  been  asserted  that  the 
Indians  themselves  looked  upon  the  ducal  insignia  as  a  sort  of  charm 
that  might  protect  them  against  the  French. f 

There  was  likewise  another  fortunate  occurrence  of  events  just  at  that 
time,  which  revived  all  the  ancient  animosity  between  the  Iroquois  and 
the  French.  While  the  conferences  between  Lord  Howard  and  the 
Indians  were  yet  in  progress,  a  message  was  received  from  M.  de  la  Barre, 
the  Governor  of  Canada,  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  the  Senecas  in 
prosecuting  hostilities  against  the  Miamies  and  other  western  nations  in 
alliance  with  the  French,  and  thus  interrupting  their  trade.  Colonel 
Dongan  communicated  the  message  to  the  Iroquois  chiefs,  wiio  retorted 
by  charging  the  French  with  supplying  their  enemies  >vith  all  their  muni- 
tions of  war.  ''  Onontiot  calls  us  children,"  said  they,  "  and  at  the  same 
time  sends  powder  to  our  enemies  to  kill  us  I"  This  collision  resulted  in 
open  war  between  the  Iroquois  and  the  French,  the  latter  sending  to 
France  for  powerful  reinforcements,  with  the  design  of  an  entire  subju- 
gation of  the  former  in  the  ensuing  year.  Meantime  the  French  Catho- 
lics continued  to  procure  letters  from  the  Duke  of  York  to  his  lieutenant 
commanding  him  to  lay  no  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  invaders.  But 
these  commands  were  again  disregarded.  Dongan  apprised  the  Iroquois 
of  the  designs  of  the  French,  not  only  to  march  against  them  with  a  strong 
army,  but  simultaneously  to  bring  down  upon  them  the  western  Indians 

*  Smith's  Hiatory  of  New  York. 
f  Colden's  Jlistory  of  the  Five  Nations. 

X  The  name  by  which  the  Iroquois  were  wont  to  speak  of  the  French  Governors 
of  Canada. 


69 

in  their  interest.     The  English  Governor  also  promised  to  assist  them  if 
necessary. 

Thus  by  the  wisdom  and  the  strong  sense  of  justice  of  Oolonel  Don- 
gan,  was  the  chain  of  friendship  between  the  English  and  the  Five 
Nations  brightened  and  the  most  amicable  relations  re-established.  Yet 
for  the  course  he  had  taken,  he  fell  under  the  displeasure  of  his  bigoted 
master  on  his  accession  to  the  throne  in  1G85. 

It  is  not,  of  course,  within  the  purpose  of  this  history  to  trace  the 
progress  of  the  long  and  cruel  wars  that  succeeded  the  negotiations 
between  Colonel  Dongan  and  the  Confederates.  Briefly  it  may  be  said 
in  respect  to  the  expedition  of  M.  de  la  Barre,  that,  it  failed  by  reason  of 
sickness  in  his  army  at  Cadaraqui,  before  crossing  the  lake.  He  was 
succeeded  in  the  government  of  Canada  by  the  Marquis  Denonville,  who 
invaded  the  Seneca  country  in  1687  with  a  powerful  force,  gaining,  how- 
ever, such  a  victory  over  the  Indians  in  the  Genessee  Valley  as  led  to  an 
inglorious  retreat.  This  invasion  was  speedily  recompensed  by  the  Con- 
federates, who  descended  upon  the  French  settlements  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence like  a  tempest,  and  struck  a  blow  of  terrible  vengeance  upon  Mon- 
treal itself. 

New  York  was  at  this  time  torn  by  the  intestine  commotions  inci- 
dent to  the  revolution  which  drove  the  Stuarts  from  the  English  throne, 
and  ended  the  j^ower  of  the  Catholics  in  the  colony.  It  was  a  conse- 
quence of  these  divisions  that  the  English  could  afford  the  Indians  no- 
assistance  in  their  invasion  of  Canada  at  that  time,  else  that  country 
would  then  doubtless  have  been  wrested  from  the  Crown  of  France.  But 
the  achievements  of  the  Indians  were,  nevertheless,  most  important  for 
the  Colony  of  New  York,  the  subjugation  of  which  was  at  that  precis© 
conjuncture  meditated  by  France,  and  a  combined  expedition,  by  land 
and  sea,  was  undertaken  for  that  purpose — Admiral  Caffniere  command- 
ing the  ships  which  sailed  from  Rochefort  for  New  York,  and  the  Count 
de  Frontenac,  who  had  succeeded  Denonville,  being  the  General  of  the 
land  forces.  On  his  arrival  at  Quebec,  however,  the  Count  beheld  his- 
province  reduced  to  a  field  of  devastation,  and  he  was  therefore  con- 
strained to  abandon  the  enterprise. 

Nor  was  Governor  Dongan's  administration  in  the  government  of  the 
colony  itself  characterized  by  less  wisdom  than  his  dealings  with  the 
Indians.  He  was  highly  respected  as  Governor — being  upright,  discreet, 
and  of  accomplished  manners,  added  to  which  his  firm  and  judicious 
policy,  and  his  steadfast  integrity,  soon  won  for  him  "  the  affections  of 
his  people,  and  made  him  one  of  the  most  popular  of  the  E-oyal  Governors." 
Two  years  previous  to  his  arrival,  the  aldermen  of  New  York,  and  the 
justices  of  the  peace  of  the  Court  of  Assize,  in  consequence  of  the  tyranny 
of  Andross,  had  petitioned  the  Duke  that  the  people  might  be  allowed 
to  participate  in  the  affairs  of  the  government  by  the  construction  of  a 


70 

General  Assembly,  in  which  they  might  be  represented.  Through  the 
interposition  of  William  Penn,  who  enjoyed  the  favor  both  of  the  King 
and  the  Duke,  the  point  was  yielded,  and  Colonel  Dongan  was  instructed 
to  allow  the  people  a  voice  in  the  government.  Greatly  to  the  joy  of  the 
inhabitants,  therefore,  who  had  become  turbulent,  if  not  disaffected,  under 
the  rule  of  Andross,  writs  were  issued  to  the  sheriffs  summoning  the 
freeholders  to  choose  representatives  to  meet  the  new  Governor  in 
assembly.  He  thus  gave  the  colony  its  first  legislative  assembly,  which, 
meeting  for  the  first  time  in  the  City  of  New  York,  on  the  17th  of 
October,  1683,  consisted  of  the  Governor,  ten  councillors,  and  seventeen 
representatives  elected  by  the  people.  Henceforth,  and  up  to  the  period 
of  the  American  Bevolution,  the  history  of  New  York  City  as  the  legis- 
lative capital  of  the  province,  consists,  for  the  most  part,  in  a  series  of  bitter 
scenes  between  the  Assembly  and  the  Hoyal  Governors.  The  first  act 
of  the  Assembly  was  to  give  to  the  province  its  first  "  Charter  of 
Liberties,"  by  which  it  was  ordained  "  that  supreme  legislative  power 
should  forever  reside  in  the  Governor,  Council,  and  people  met  in  General 
Assembly ;  that  every  freeholder  and  freeman  might  vote  for  representa- 
tives without  restraint ;  that  no  freeman  should  suffer  but  by  judgment 
of  his  peers,  and  that  all  trials  should  be  by  a  jury  of  twelve  men ;  that 
no  tax  should  be  assessed  on  any  pretense  whatever  but  by  the  consent 
of  the  Assembly ;  that  no  seaman  or  soldier  should  be  quartered  on  the 
inhabitants  against  their  will;  that  no  martial  law  should  exist;  and  that 
no  person  professing  faith  in  God,  by  Jesus  Christ,  should  at  any  time  be 
in  any  way  disquieted  or  questioned  for  any  difference  of  opinion  in 
matters  of  religion."  Three  assembhes,  at  least,  were  to  be  held  every 
year  ;  and  should  any  seat  become  vacant,  a  new  election  was  to  be  at 
once  ordered  by  the  Governor.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Assembly  was 
to  divide  the  Province  into  twelve  counties — New  York,  Pichmond,  Kings, 
Queens,  Suffolk,  Orange,- Ulster,  Albany,  "Westchester,  Duchess,  Dukes, 
and  Cornwall — all  of  which  names,  with  the  exception  of  the  last  two, 
still  remain  at  the  present  day. 

The  Assembly,  also,  lost  no  time  in  bettering  the  condition  of  the 
city  itself.  "  New  police  regulations  were  at  once  established.  Sunday 
laws  were  enacted ;  tavern-keepers  were  forbidden  to  sell  liquor  except 
to  travelers,  citizens  to  work,  children  to  play  in  the  streets,  and 
Indians  and  negroes  to  assemble  on  the  Sabbath.  Twenty  .cartmen 
were  licensed  by  the  municipal  authorities,  on  condition  that  they 
should  repair  the  highways  gratis  whenever  called  on  by  the  Mayor, 
and  cart  the  dirt  from  the  streets,  which  the  inhabitants  were  required  to 
sweep  together  every  Saturday  afternoon  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  city. 
The  rate  of  cartage  was  fixed  at  three  pence  per  load  to  any  place  within 
the  bounds  of  the  city ;  beyond  which,  the  price  was  doubled.  The 
cartmen,  however,  soon  proved  refractory,  and  a  few  weeks  after,  the 


71 

license  system  was  abandoned,  and  all  persons,  wdth  the  Exception  of 
slaves,  were  allowed  to  act  as  cartmen. 

''  On  the  8th  of  December,  1683,  the  city  was  divided  into  six  wards. 
Tne  First  or  •  South  Ward,  beginning  at  the  river,  extended  along  the 
west  side  of  Broad  to  Beaver  street ;  thence  westward  along  Beaver  street 
to  the  Bowling  Green ;  thence  southward  by  the  fort  to  Pearl  street ;  and 
thence  westward  along  the  river-shore  to  the  place  of  starting.  The 
Second  or  Dock  Ward,  also  beginning  at  the  river  at  the  southeast  corner 
of  Pearl  and  Broad  streets,  extended  along  the  shore  to  Hanover  Square  ; 
thence  northward  through  William  to  Beaver  street ;  thence  along  Beaver 
to  Broad  street ;  thence  back  through  Broad  to  the  river-shore.  The 
Third  or  East  Ward  formed  a  sort  of  triangle,  beginning  at  the  corner  of 
Pearl  and  Hanover  Square,  and  extending  along  the  shore 'to  the  Half- 
Moon  Fort  at  the  foot  of  Wall  street ;  thence  stretching  along  Wall  to  the 
corner  of  William,  and  thence  returning  along  the  east  side  of  William 
to  the  river.  The  Fourth  or  North  Ward,  beginning  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  William  and  Beaver  streets,  extended  through  the  former  to 
the  corner  of  Wall ;  thence  westerly  along  the  palisades  to  a  line  a  little 
beyond  Nassau  street ;  thence  southerly  to  Beaver  street ;  thence  easterly 
along  Beaver  to  the  first-named  point.  The  Fifth  or  West  Ward, 
beginning  at  the  junction  of  the  Fourth  Ward  with  Beaver  street, 
extended  northerly  along  the  boundary  line  of  the  latter  to  Wall  street ; 
thence  along  the  palisades  to  Broadway ;  thence  southerly  to  Beaver 
street ;  thence  easterly  to  the  point  of  starting.  The  Sixth  or  Out  Ward 
comprised  all  the  farms  and  plantations  outside  the  city  walls,  including 
the  Town  of  Harlem.  Each  of  these  wards  was  authorized  to  elect  an 
alderman  and  councilman  annually  to  represent  them  in  the  city  govern- 
ment. The  Grovernor  and  Council  retained  the  appointment  of  the  Mayor 
in  their  own  hands ;  it  was  not,  indeed,  until  long  after  the  Eevolution 

that  this  office  was  made  elective  by  the  people. 

********* 

''  In  1686,  the  Dongan  Charter  was  granted  to  the  city.  This 
Instrument,  which  still  forms  the  basis  of  the  municipal  rights  and 
privileges  of  New  York,  confirmed  the  franchises  before  enjoyed  by  the 
corporation,  and  placed  the  city  government  on  a  definite  footing.  The 
Governor  retained  the  appointment  of  the  mayor,  recorder,  sheriff, 
coroner,  high-constable,  town-cleirk,  and  clerk  of  the  market  in  his  own 
hands ;  leaving  the  aldermen,  assistants,  and  petty  constables  to  be 
chosen  by  the  people  at  the  annual  election  on  St.  Michael's  Day.  This 
charter  which  was  dated  April  22,  1686,  declared  that  New  York  City 
should  thenceforth  comprise  the  entire  Island  of  Manhattan,  extending 
to  the  low-water  mark  of  the  bays  and  rivers  surrounding  it. 

"  In  the  same  year,  the  city  received  a  new  seal  from  the  home 
government.     This  still  preserved   the  beaver  of  the  Dutch,  with    the 


72 

addition  of  a  flour-barrel  and  the  arms  of  a  wind-mill,  in  token  of  the^ 
prevailing  commerce  of  the  city.  The  whole  was  supported  by  two 
Indian  chiefs,  and  encircled  with  a  wreath  of  laurel,  with  the  motto, 

SiGILLUM  OlVITATIS  NoVI  EbORACI. 

"  In  1687,  Stephanus  Van  Cortlandt  was  again  appointed  Mayor. 
During  his  Mayoralty,  it  was  determined  to  enlarge  the  city  by  building 
a  new  street  in  the  river  along  the  line  of  Water  street,  between  Whitehall 
and  Old  Slip,  and  water-lots  were  sold  by  the  corporation  on  condition 
that  the  purchasers  should  make  the  street  toward  the  water,  and  protect 
it  by  a  substantial  wharf  from  the  washing  of  the  tide,  in  imitation  of 
Waal  or  sheet  pile  street,  extending  along  the  line  of  Pearl  street,  from 
Broad  to  William  streets,  in  front  of  the  City  Hall.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  some  years  after,  that  this  scheme  was  carried  into  effect,  and  the 
projected  street  rescued  from  the  waters. 

"  Measures  were  also  taken  to  enlarge  the  city  still  further  by  placing 
the  fortifications  further  out,  and  laying  out  Wall  street  thirty-six  feet 
wide.  The  fortifications,  indeed,  were  now  worse  than  useless.  The 
palisades  which  had  been  erected  in  1653  along  the  line  of  Wall  street 
had  fallen  down,  the  works  were  in  ruins,  the  guns  had  disappeared  from 
the  artillery-mounts,  and  the  ditches  and  stockades  were  in  a  ruinous 
condition.  Their  immediate  removal  was  determined  on  and  ordered,  but 
was  delayed  by  the  revolution  which  followed  soon  after.  When  war 
broke  out  between  France  and  England  in  1693,  they  were  again  repaired 
to  be  in  readiness  for  the  expected  Erench  invasion,  and  it  was  not  until 
169B  that  their  demolition  was  finally  accomplished.  Wall  street,  how- 
ever, was  laid  out  immediately,  and  it  was  not  long  before  it  became  one 
of  the  most  important  thoroughfares  in  the  city.  During  the  same  year, 
a  valuation  was  made  of  the  city  property,  which  was  estimated  on  the 
assessor's  books  at  £78,231."* 

Many  other  municipal  regulations  concerning  hucksters,  bakers, 
butchers,  and  others,  were  established — then  esteemed  of  vital  importance, 
but  a  repetition  of  which  would  only  weary.  A  single  item,  however, 
deserves  notice,  as  illustrating  the  punishments  practiced  in  olden  times. 
A  pillory,  cage,  whipping-post, f  and  ducking-stool,  were  set  up  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  City  Hall,  and  hither  were  brought  all  vagrants,  slanderers, 
pilferers,  and  truant  children,  to  be  exposed  to  the  public  gaze,  and  to 
receive  such  chastisement  as  their  ofl'ehses  might  warrant.  It  is  to  be 
regretted,  in  view  of  the  present  army  of  such  people  in  the  City  of  New 
York,  that  a  similar  ordinance  is  not  now  in  force. 

Meanwhile,  William  and  Mary  had  been  proclaimed  King  and  Queen 

*  Miss  Mary  L.  Booth's  History  of  New  York. 

■\  A  whipping-post,  put  up  in  1G30,  is  still  standing  on  the  Village  Green,  in 
rairhold,  Connecticut. 


73 

of  England  in  place  of  James  II,  who,  having-  abdicated  the  throne,, 
had  become  a  wanderer  on  the  Continent.  This  change  in  the  home 
government  from  a  Catholic  to  a  Protestant  one,  necessitated  a  corre- 
sponding change  in  the  Governor  at  New  York.  Colonel  Sloughter  was, 
accordingly,  commissioned  to  the  government  of  New  York  in  January, 
1689,  but  did  not  arrive  until  the  19th  of  March,  1691.  The  selection 
of  Sloughter  was  not  fortunate.  According  to  Smith,  he  was  utterly 
destitute  of  every  qualification  for  government :  licentious  in  his  morals, 
avaricious,  and  base.  Leisler,  who  had  administered  the  government 
after  a  fashion,  since  the  departure  of  Dongan,  intoxicated  with  power, 
refused  to  surrender  the  government  to  Sloughter,  and  attempted  to 
defend  the  fort,  in  which  he  had  taken  refuge,  against  him.  Finding  it 
expedient,  however,  very  soon  to  abandon  the  fort,  he  was  arrested,  and, 
with  his  son-in-law,  Milburne,  tried  and  executed  for  treason.  Still,  on 
the  whole,  the  conduct  of  Leisler  during  the  revolution  had  been  con- 
sidered patriotic,  and  his  sentence  was  deemed  very  unjust  and  cruel. 
Indeed,  his  enemies  could  not  prevail  upon  Sloughter  to  sign  the  warrant 
for  ■  his  execution  until,  for  that  purpose,  they  got  him  intoxicated.  It 
was  a  murderous  affair.  Sloughter's  administration  was  short  and  tur- 
bulent.    He  died  July  23d,  1691. 

On  the  death  of  Sloughter,  Bichard  Ingoldsby,  the  captain  of  an 
independent  company,  was  made  president  of  the  council,  to  the  exclusion 
of  Joseph  Dudley,  who,  but  for  his  absence  in  Boston,  would  have  had 
the  right  to  preside,  and  upon  whom  the  government  would  have  devolved. 
But  although  Dudley  very  soon  returned  to  New  York,  he  did  not  contest 
the  authority  of  Ingoldsby,  who  administered  the  government  until  the 
arrival  of  Colonel  Fletcher,  with  a  commission  as  governor,  in  August, 
1692.  In  the  preceding  month  of  June,  Ingoldsby  met  the  Five  Nations 
in  council  at  Albany,  on  which  occasion  they  declared  their  enmity  to  the 
French  in  the  strongest -possible  terms.  Their  expressions  of  friendship 
for  the  English  were  also  renewed.  "  Brother  Corlaer,"  said  the  sachem, 
"  we  are  all  the  subjects  of  one  great  king  and  queen  ;  we  have  one  head, 
one  heart,  one  interest,  and  are  all  engaged  in  the  same  war."  They 
nevertheless  condemned  the  English  for  their  inactivity,  "  telling  them 
that  the  destruction  of  Canada  would  not  make  one  summer's  work, 
against  their  united  strength,  if  ingeniously  exerted." 

In  conducting  the  Indian  affairs  of  the  colony,  Colonel  Fletcher 
took  Major  Schuyler  into  his  councils,  and  was  guided  by  his  opinions. 
"  No  man  understood  those  affairs  better  than  he ;  and  his  influence  over 
the  Indians  was  so  great,  that  whatever  Quider,*  as  they  called  him, 
either  recommended  or  disapproved,  had  the  force  of  a  law.  This  power 
over  them  was  supporj;ed,  as  it  had  been  obtained,  by  repeated  offices  of 


*  Quider,   the  Iroquois  pronunciation  of   Peter.     Having  no  labials  in  their 
language,  they  could  not  say  Peter. 


74 

liindness,  and  his  single  bravery  and  acti^dty  in  the  defense  of  his  coun- 
try." *  Through  the  influence  of  Quider,  therefore,  Colonel  Fletcher  was 
placed  upon  the  best  footing  with  the  Indians,  by  whom  was  conferred 
upon  him  the  name  of  Cayenguinago,  or  "  The  Great  Swift  Arrow,''  as  a 
comphment  for  a  remarkably  rapid  journey  made  by  him  from  New  York 
to  Schenectady  on  a  sudden  emergency.! 

Desparing,  at  length,  of  accomplishing  a  peace  with  the  Five  Nations; 
Count  Frontenac  determined  to  strike  a  blow  upon  the  Mohawks  in  their 
own  country — which  purpose  was  securely  executed  in  the  month  of 
February,  1693.  For  once  this  vigilant  race  of  warriors  were  taken  by 
surprise,  two  of  their  castles  being  entered  and  captured  without  much 
Tesistance — the  warriors  of  both  having  been  mostly  absent  at  Schenec- 
tady. On  assaihng  the  third,  or  upper  castle,  however,  the  invaders  met 
with  a  different  reception.  The  warriors  within,  to  the  number  of  forty, 
were  engaged  in  a  war-dance,  j^i'eparatory  to  some  military  expedition 
upon  which  they  were  about  entering ;  and  though  inferior  in  force,  yet 
they  yielded  not  without  a  struggle,  nor  until  thirty  of  the  assailants  had 
been  slain.  About  three  hundred  of  the  Mohawks  were  taken  prisoners 
in  this  invasion,  in  respect  to  which  the  people  of  Schenectady  have  been 
•charged  with  bad  conduct.  They  neither  aided  their  neighbors,  nor  even 
apprised  them  of  the  approach  of  danger,  although  informed  of  the  fact 
in  due  season  themselves.  But  Quider,  the  fast  friend  of  the  Indians, 
took  the  field  at  the  head  of  the  militia  of  Albany,  immediately  on  hear- 
ing of  the  invasion,  and  harassed  the  enemy  sharply  during  their  retreat. 
Indeed,  but  for  the  protection  of  a  snow-storm,  and  the  accidental  resting 
of  a  cake  of  ice  upon  the  river,  forming  a  bridge  for  their  escape,  the 
invaders  would  have  been  cut  off. 

Fletcher  was  by  profession  a  soldier,  a  man  of  strong  passions  and 
inconsiderable  talents  ;  very  active,  and  equally  avaricious.  His  adminis- 
tration was  so  energetic  and  successful  the  first  year,  that  he  received 
large  suppUes,  and  a  vote  of  special  thanks  from  the  Assembly.  He  was 
a  bigot,  however,  to  the  Episcopal  form  of  church  government,  and 
labored  hard  to  introduce  ^into  the  province  the  English  language,  to 
encourage  English  churches  and  schools.  On  this  account  he  was  soon 
involved  in  a  violent  controversy  with  the  Assembly,  who  were  at  first 
inclined  rather  to  favor  the  Dutch  churches.  But  in  1693  an  Assembly 
was  found,  who,  more  pliant,  passed  an  act  "  Providing  for  the  building 
of  a  church  in  the  City  of  New  York,  in  which  was  to  be  settled  a  Pro- 
testant minister  " — the  word  Protestant  being  tacitly  understood  to  mean 
Episcopal.     This  was  the  origin  of  Trinity  Church,!  which  was  forthwith 

*  Smith's  History  of  New  York. 

f  Colden's  Six  Nations. 

X  This  church  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  177G,  and  lay  in  ruins  until  17S8,  when  it 
•was  rebuilt.  In  1839  it  was  torn  down  to  build  the  present  edifice,  which  was 
Oldened  in  1846. 


75 

begun  in  1696,  and  finished  and  opened  for  public  worship  in  February, 
1697,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Eev.  William  Vesey.  The  church  itself, 
which  was  a  very  insignificant  building,  resembled  its  present  namesake 
on  the  same  site  in  nothing  save  in  having  a  very  tall  spire.  Certainly 
it  did  not  resemble  the  present  Trinity  in  having  set  apart  in  it  (as  it  did) 
a  pew  for  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council,  to  whom  a  sermon  was  annu- 
ally preached,  on  the  day  of  the  city  election.  What  a  pity  it  is,  how- 
ever, that  this  good  old  custom  cannot  be  re\dved — for,  of  all  persons, 
who  need  rehgious  instruction  more  than  our  worthy  Mayors  and  Alder- 
men ■?  Was  the  setting  apart  of  this  pew  intended  as  a  dehcate  piece  of 
sarcasm,  or  were  the  city  officials  of  that  day  really  men  of  a  different 
stamp  ? 

Fletcher  was  succeeded  by  Eichard,  Earl  of  Bellamont,  who  was 
appointed  Governor  of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire, 
in  May,  1695,  but  did  not  arrive  in  New  York  until  May,  1698.  He  was 
appointed  by  King  William  with  a  special  \dew  to  the  suppression  of 
piracy  in  the  American  seas — New  York,  at  that  time,  having  been  a 
commercial  depot  of  the  pirates,  with  whom  Fletcher,  and  other  officers  in 
the  colony,  had  a  good  understanding.  Kidd  was  fitted  out  with  a  ship 
by  Bellamont,  Robert  Livingstone,  and  others,  including  several  English 
.  noblemen.  Turning  pirate  himself,  Kidd  was  afterward  arrested  in  Bos- 
ton by  the  Earl,  and  sent  home  for  trial.  The  Earl  was  a  nobleman  of 
poHte  manners,  a  great  favorite  of  King  William,  and  very  popular 
among  the  people  both  of  New  York  and  Boston.  He  had  been  dissipated 
in  his  youth,  but  afterward  became  penitent  and  devout.'  He  died  in  New 
York,  in  March,  1701. 

On  the  death  of  Earl  Bellanfont,  the  government  devolved  upon  Mr. 
Nanfan,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  until  the  appointment  of  Lord  Corn- 
bury,  in  1702.  A  public  dinner  was  given  in  honor  of  his  arrival ;  he 
was  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city,  in  a  gold  box  ;  and  a  con- 
gratulatory address  was  tendered  him  by  the  city  authorities.  It  was 
not  long,  however  before  his  true  character  appeared.  He  was  a  very 
tyrannical,  base,  and  profligate  man,  and  was  appointed  to  the  government 
of  New  York  by  Kling  William,  as  a  reward  for  his  desertion  of  Eang 
James,  in  whose  army  he  was  an  officer.  He  was  a  savage  bigot  and 
an  ungentlemanly  tyrant.  He  imprisoned  several  clergymen  who  were 
dissenters,  and  robbed  the  Eev.  M.  Hubbard,  of  Jamaica,  of  his  house 
and  glebe.  He  was  wont  to  dress  himself  in  women's  clothes,  and  thus 
patrol  the  fort.  His  avarice  was  insatiable,  and  his  disposition  that  of  a 
savage. 

The  only  things  worthy  of  note  during  his  administration  are  :  First, 
the  establishment  by  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  a  free  grammar- 
school  ;  and  second,  the  raging  of  a  malignant  epidemic,  which  strongly 
resembled  the  yellow-fever.     The  terror-stricken  citizens  fled  to  the  shores 


76 

of  New  Jersey  and  Staten  Island ;  and  Lord  Cornbury,  with  his  council, 
took  up  his  quarters  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island.  But  the  inhabitants  of 
New  York  had  a  worse  plague,  than  even  the  pestilence,  in  Cornbury  ;  who, 
at  length,  becoming  an  object  of  universal  abhorrence  and  detestation,  was 
superseded  by  Queen  Anne,  who,  in  the  autumn  of  1708,  appointed  John, 
Lord  Lovelace,  Baron  of  Hurley,  in  his  place. 

Lovelace,  however,  did  not  long  enjoy  either  the  cares  or  pleasures 
of  office.  He  died  on  the  5th  of  May  in  the  next  year,  of  a  disorder 
contracted  in  crossing  the  ferry  at  his  first  arrival  in  New  York.  On  the 
death  of  his  lordship,  the  government  once  more  devolved  upon  Richard 
Ingoldsby,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  colony,  until  the  arrival  of 
Governor  Hunter,  in  the  summer  of  1710. 

Hunter  was  a  Scotchman,  and  when  a  boy,  an  apprentice  to  an 
apothecary.  Leaving  his  master,  he  entered  the  army,  and  being  a  man 
of  wit  and  beauty,  gained  promotion,  and  also  the  hand  of  Lady  Hay.  In 
1707  he  was  appointed  Li 3utenant- Governor  of  Virginia,  but  being  cap- 
tured by  the  French  on  his  voyage  out,  on  his  return  to  England  he  was 
appointed  to  the  government  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  then  united 
in  the  same  jurisdiction.  Governor  Hunter  was  the  man  who  brought 
over  the  three  thousand  Palatines  from  Germany,  by  whom  the  German 
settlements  in  the  interior  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  were  founded. 
He  administered  the  government  of  the  colony  "  well  and  wisely,"  as  was 
said  to  him  in  an  affectionate  parting  address  by  the  General  Assembly, 
until  the  summer  of  1719,  when  he  returned  to  England,  on  leave  of 
absence,  as  well  on  account  of  his  health  as  to  look  after  his  private  affairs. 
He  intimated,  upon  his  departure,  that  he  might  return  to  the  government 
again,  but  did  not.  The  chief  comnAind  on  his  departure  devolved  on 
the  Hon.  Peter  Schuyler,  as  the  oldest  member  of  the  council,  but  only 
for  a  brief  period.  He,  however,  held  a  treaty  with  the  Six  Nations  at 
Albany,  which  was  considered  satisfactory  ;  yet  it  would  have  been  more 
so,  had  his  efforts  to  induce  the  Confederates  to  drive  Joncaire,  the  artful 
agent  of  the  French,  out  of  their  country,  been  successful.  This  Jesuit 
emissary  had  resided  among  the  Senecas  from  the  beginning  of  Queen 
Anne's  reign.  He  had  been  adopted  by  them,  and  was  greatly  beloved 
by  the  Onondagas.  He  was  incessant  in  his  intrigues  in  behalf  of  the 
French,  facilitating  the  missionaries  in  their  progress  through  the  country, 
and  contributing  greatly  to  the  vacillating  course  of  the  Indians  toward 
the  English.  Schuyler  was  aware  of  all  this ;  but  notwithstanding  his 
own  great  influence  over  the  Six  Nations,  he  could  not  prevail  upon  them 
to  discard  their  favorite.  In  other  respects  the  government  of  Schuyler 
was  marked  by  moderation,  wisdom,  and  integrity. 

About  this  period  a  "  new  market  was  established  at  the  upper  end 
of  Broad  street,  between  the  City  Hall  and  Exchange  Place,  and  per- 
mission was  given  to  the  residents  of  the  vicinity  to  erect  stalls  and  sheds 


77 

to  suit  their  convenience,  under  the  direction  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Market. 
Country  people  were  also  permitted  to  sell  meat  at  wholesale  or  retail,  as 
they  pleased,  subject  to  the  same  supervision;  and  bakers  were  required 
to  brand  their  loaves  with  their  initials,  under  penalty  of  forfeiture  of 
the  bread.  In  the  spring  of  the  same  year  (1711)  it  was  resolved  that  a 
meeting  of  the  Common  Council  should  be  held  at  the  City  Hall  on  the 
first  Friday  of  every  month ;  and  the  treasurer  was  also  ordered  to  pur- 
chase eighteen  rush-hottom.ed.  chairs  and  an  oval  table  for  their  accom- 
modation."* 

"William  Bumet,  son  of  the  celebrated  prelate  of  that  name  who 
flourished  in  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  succeeded  Hunter  in  the 
government  of  the  colony,  in  the  year  1720  ;  and  of  all  the  colonial 
Governors  of  New  York,  with  the  exception  of  Colonel  Dongan,  his 
Indian  and  colonial  policy  was  marked  by  the  most  prudent  forecast  and 
the  greatest  wisdom.  Immediately  after  the  peace  of  Utrecht  a  a  brisk 
trade  in  goods  for  the  Indian  market  was  re\ived  between  Albany  and 
Montreal,  the  Caughnawaga  tribe  of  the  Mohawks  residing  near  Mon- 
treal serving  as  carriers.  The  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  foresaw  the  evil 
and  inevitable  consequences  to  result  from  allowing  that  trade  to  pass 
round  in  that  direction,  inasmuch  as  the  Indians  would  of  course  be 
drawn  exclusively  to  Montreal  for  their  supplies,  to  be  received  immedi- 
ately at  the  hands  of  the  French,  and  they  cautioned  the  Enghsh 
authorities  against  it.  Mr.  Hunter  had  indeed  called  the  attention  of 
the  General  Assembly  to  the  subject  at  an  antecedent  period  ;  but  no 
action  was  had  thereon  until  after  Mr.  Burnet  had  assumed  the  direction 
of  the  colonial  administration.  The  policy  of  the  latter  was  at  once  to 
cut  off  an  intercourse  so  unwise  and  dangerous  with  Montreal,  and  bring 
the  entire  Indian  trade  within  the  limits  and  control  of  New  York.  To 
this  end  an  act  was  passed  at  his  suggestion,  subjecting  the  traders  with 
Montreal  to  a  forfeiture  of  their  goods,  and  a  penaltj^  of  one  hundred 
pounds  for  each  infraction  of  the  law.  It  likewise  entered  into  the 
policy  of  Mr.  Burnet  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  Caughnawagas,  and 
reunite  them  with  their  kindred  in  their  native  valley.  But  the  ties  by 
which  the  Roman  priesthood  had  bound  them  to  the  interests  of  the 
French,  were  too  strong,  and  the  efforts  of  the  Governor  were  unsuc- 
cessful. 

In  furtherance  of  the  design  to  grasp  the  Indian  trade,  not  only 
of  the  Six  Nations,  but  likewise  that  of  the  remoter  nations  of  the  upper 
lakes,  a  trading-post  was  established  at  Oswego  in  1722.     A  trusty  agent 

*  It  is  to 'this  day  quite  a  knotty  question  whether  these  "rush-bottomed 
chairs"  were  designed  merely  to  encourage  "plain  Republican  simplicity,"  or 
whether  there  was  not  an  intention  to  make  the  damage  as  small  as  possible,  in  case 
of  the  members  throwing  them  at  each  other's  heads — as  is  said  to  have  been  the 
•case  within  the  last  few  months. 


78 

was  also  appointed  to  reside  at  the  great  council-fire  of  the  Onondagas^ 
the  central  nation  of  the  Confederates.  A  congress  of  several  of  the 
colonies  was  held  at  Albany  to  meet  the  Six  Nations,  during  the  same 
year,  which,  among  other  distinguished  men,  was  attended  by  Governor 
Spottswood,  of  Virginia,  Sir  William  Keith,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  by 
Governor  Burnet.  At  this  council  the  chiefs  stipulated  that  in  their 
southern  war  expeditions  they  would  not  cross  the  Potomac,  and  in  their 
marches  against  their  southern  enemies,  their  path  was  to  lie  westward 
of  the  great  mountains — the  AUeghanies  meaning.  Mr.  Burnet  again 
brightened  the  chain  of  friendship  with  them  on  the  part  of  New  York, 
notwithstanding  the  adverse  influences  exerted  by  the  Chevalier 
Joncaire,  the  Jesuit  agent  residing  alternately  among  the  Senecas 
and  Onondagas. 

The  beneficial  effects  of  Mr.  Burnet's  policy  were  soon  apparent. 
In  the  course  of  a  single  year  more  than  forty  young  men  plunged 
boldly  into  the  Indian  country  as  traders,  acquired  their  languages,  and 
strengthened  the  precarious  friendship  existing  between  the  English  and 
the  more  distant  nations ;  while  tribes  of  the  latter  previously  unknown 
to  the  colonists,  even  from  beyond  the  Michilimackinac,  visited  Albany 
for  purposes  of  traffic. 

The  establishment  of  an  English  post  at  Oswego  was  a  cause  of 
high  displeasure  to  the  French,  who,  in  order  to  intercept  the  trade  from 
the  upper  lakes  that  would  otherwise  be  drawn  thither,  and  thus  be 
diverted  from  Montreal,  determined  to  repossess  themselves  of  Niagara, 
rebuild  the  trading-house  at  that  point,  and  repair  their  dilapidated 
fort.  The  consent  of  the  Onondagas  to  this  measure  was  obtained 
by  the  Baron  de  Longueil,  who  visited  their  country  for  that  purpose, 
through  the  influence  of  Joncaire  and  his  Jesuit  associates.  But  the 
other  members  of  the  Confederacy,  disapproving  of  the  movement, 
declared  the  permission  given  to  be  void,  and  dispatched  messengers  to 
Niagara  to  arrest  the  procedure.  With  a  just  appreciation  of  the 
importance  of  such  an  encroachment  upon  their  territory,  the  Confed- 
erates met  Mr.  Burnet  in  council  upon  the  subject  at  Albany  in  1727. 
''  We  come  to  you  howling,''  said  the  chiefs  ;  "  and  this  is  the  reason 
why  we  howl,  that  the  Governor  of  Canada  encroaches  upon  our  land 
and  builds  thereon.''  Governor  Burnet  made  them  a  speech  on  the  occasion 
beautifully  expressed  in  their  own  figurative  language,  whi-^h  gave  them 
great  satisfaction.*  The  chiefs  declaring  themselves  unable  to  resist 
this  invasion  of  the  French,  entreated  the  English  for  succor,  and  formally 
surrendered  their  country  to  the  great  king,  'Ho  be  protected  by  him 
for  their  use,"  as  heretofore  stated.  But  Governor  Burnet  being  at  that 
period  involved  in  political  difficulties  with  an  Assembly  too  short-sighted 


*  Smith's  History  of  New  York. 


79 

or  too  factious  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  preserving  so  able  a  head 
to  the  colonial  government,  was  enabled  to  do  nothing  more  for  the 
protection  of  the  Indians  than  to  erect  a  small  military  defense  at 
Oswego  ;  and  even  this  work  of  necessity  he  was  obliged  to  perform  at 
his  own  private  expense.  Meantime  the  French  completed  and  secured 
their  works  at  Niagara  without  molestation. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  year,  having  been  thwarted  in  his  enlarged 
and  patriotic  views,  by  several  successive  assemblies,  Mr.  Burnet,  the 
ablest  and  wisest  of  the  colonial  administrators,  retired  from  the  govern- 
ment of  New  York,  and  accepted  that  of  Massachusetts  and  New 
Hampshire.  His  departure,  personally,  was  universally  regretted.  He 
was  not  only  a  man  of  letters,  but  of  wit — a  believer  in  the  Christian 
reHgion,  yet  not  a  serious  professor.  A  variety  of  amusing  anecdotes 
has  been  related  of  him.  When  on  his  way  from  New  York  to  assume 
the  government  at  Boston,  one  of  the  committee  who  went  from  that 
town  to  meet  him  on  the  borders  of  E-hode  Island,  was  the  facetious 
Colonel  Tailer.  Burnet  complained  of  the  long  graces  that  were  said 
before  meals  by  clergymen  on  the  road,  and  asked  when  they  would 
shorten.  Tailer  answered  :  "  The  graces  will  increase  in  length  till  you 
come  to  Boston  ;  after  that  they  will  shorten  till  you  come  to  your  gov- 
ernment of  New  Hampshire,  where  your  excellency  will  find  no  grace 
at  all." 

Colonel  John  Montgomery  succeeded  Mr.  Burnet  in  the  government 
of  the  colonies  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  in  the  month  of  April, 
1728.  He  was  a  Scotchman  and  bred  a  soldier.  But  c^uitting  the  pro- 
fession of  arms,  he  went  into  parHament,  serving,  also,  for  a  time,  as 
groom  of  the  bed-chamber  to  his  majesty  George  II,  before  his  accession 
to  the  throne.  He  was  a  man  of  moderate  abilities  and  slender  literary 
attainments.  He  was  too  good-natured  a  man  to  excite  enmities  ;  and 
his  administration  was  one  of  tranquil  inaction.  He  was  an  indolent 
man,  and  had  not  character  enough  to  inspire  opposition. 

The  French  perceiving  this,  and  enraged  at  the  erection  of  a  fort  at 
Oswego,  were  now  menacing  that  post.  The  new  governor  thereupon 
met  the  Six  Nations  in  council  at  Albany,  to  renew  the  covenant  chain, 
and  engage  them  in  the  defense  of  that  important  station.  Large 
presents  were  distributed  among  them,  and  they  declared  their  willing- 
ness to  join  the  reinforcements  detached  from  the  independent  companies 
for  that  service.  Being  apprised  ol  these  preparations,  the  French 
desisted  from  their  threatened  invasion. 

Much  of  the  opposition  to  the  administration  of  Governor  Burnet 
had  been  fomented  and  kept  ahve  by  the  Albanians,  who,  by  the  shrewd- 
ness of  his  Indian  policy,  and  the  vigorous  measures  by  which  he  had 
enforced  it,  had  been  interrupted  in  their  ilhcit  trade  in  Indian  goods  with 
Montreal,  and  also  by  the  importers  of  those  goods  residing  in  the  City 


80 

of  New  York.  Sustained,  however,  by  his  council-board,  and  by  the 
very  able  memoir  of  Doctor  Golden  upon  that  subject,  Mr.  Burnet,  as 
the  reader  has  already  been  apprised,  had  succeeded  in  giving  a  new  and 
more  advantageous  character  to  the  inland  trade,  while  the  Indian  rela- 
tions of  the  colony  had  been  placed  upon  a  better  footing,  in  so  far,  at 
least,  as  the  opportunities  of  the  French  to  tamper  with  them  had  been 
measurably  cut  oif.  But  in  December  of  the  succeeding  year,  owing  to 
some  intrigues  that  were  never  clearly  understood,  all  these  advantages 
were  suddenly  relinquished  by  an  act  of  the  Crown  repealing  the  meas- 
ures of  Mr.  Burnet ;  reviving,  in  effect,  the  execrable  trade  of  the  Alba- 
nians, and  thus  at  once  reopening  the  door  of  intrigue  between  the 
French  and  the  Six  Nations,  which  had  been  so  wisely  closed. 

The  three  principal  events,  however,  of  Montgomery's  administration 
affecting  the  city  itself,  were  the  grant  of  an  amended  city  charter  in 
1730,  by  which  the  jurisdiction  of  the  city  was  fixed  to  begin  at  King's 
Bridge,  the  establishment  of  a  line  of  stages  to  run  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  once  a  fortnight  during  the  winter  months,  and  the 
founding  of  the  first  public  library. 

For  more  than  a  century  there  had  been  no  public  library  in  the 
city,  but  in  the  year  1729  some  sixteen  hundred  and  twenty-two  volumes 
were  bequeathed  by  the  Kev.  John  Millington,  rector  of  Newington, 
England,  to  the  "  Venerable  Society  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts,"  by  whom  the  books  were  in  turn  immediately  presented 
to  the  city.  To  this  number  also  was  added  another  collection,  the  gift 
of  the  Pev.  John  Sharp,  chaplain  to  Lord  Bellamont,  when  both  collec- 
tions, now  one,,  was  opened  to  the  public  as  the  "  Corporation  Library." 
The  librarian  dying  soon  after,  the  books  were  neglected  until  1754,  when 
a  few  public-spirited  citizens  founded  the  Society  Lihranj^  at  the  same  time 
adding  the  Corporation  collection  and  depositing  the  whole  in  the  City 
Hall.  The  undertaking  prospered  and  in  1772  George  III  granted  it  a 
charter.  During  the  Pevolutionar}^  struggle  the  library  was  neglected ; 
but  when  peace  was  restored  in  1783,  the  society  revived  their  charter 
and  again  set  themselves  to  work  collecting  those  volumes  that  had  been 
scattered  and  replacing  those  irretrievably  lost  by  new  ones.  Their  efforts 
were  so  far  successful  as  to  warrant  them  in  erecting  a  library  building 
on  Nassau  street,  opposite  the  Dutch  church,  a  building  that  for  a  long 
time  was  considered  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  architecture  of  which 
the  city  could  boast.  Thence  it  was  removed  to  the  Mechanics'  Society 
building  on  Chambers  street,  where  it  remained  until  the  completion  of 
their  new  and  fine  edifice  in  1840  on  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Leonard 
street.  This  spot  was  next  vacated  and  quarters  were  obtained  for  it  in  the 
new  Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  whence,  in  1857,  it  once  more  removed  to 
its  beautiful  edifice  in  University  Place,  between  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth 
streets.  Such  is  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  first  public  library  of  New  York, 
,'Commenced  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  years  ago. 


81 

On  the  decease  of  Colonel  Montgomery,  in  1731,  the  duties  of  the 
colonial  executive  were  for  a  brief  period  exercised  by  Mr.  Rip  Van 
Dam,  as  President  of  the  Douncil.*  His  administration  was  signalized  by 
the  memorable  infraction  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  by  the  French,  who 
then  invaded  the  clearly-defined  territory  of  New  York,  and  built  the 
fortress  of  St.  Frederick,  at  Crown  Point,  a  work  which  gave  them  the 
command  of  Lake  Champlain — the  highway  between  the  English  and 
French  colonies.  The  pusillanimity  evinced  by  the  government  of  New 
York  on  the  occasion  of  that  flagrant  encroachment  upon  its  domains, 
excites  the  amazement  of  the  retrospective  reviewer.  Massachusetts, 
alarmed  at  this  advance  of  the  rivals,  if  not  natural  enemies,  of  the 
English  upon  the  settlement  of  the  latter,  first  called  the  attention  of  the 
authorities  of  New  York  to  the  subject ;  but  the  information  was  received 
with  the  most  provoking  indijfference.  There  was  a  regular  military 
force  in  the  colony  abundantly  sufficient,  by  a  prompt  movement,  to 
repel  the  aggression,  yet  not  even  a  remonstrance  was  uttered  against  it. 
With  the  exception  of  this  infringement  upon  the  territory  of  New  York, 
nothing  worthy  of  special  mention  occurred  during  the  administration  of 
Mr.  Van  Dam.  In  August,  1732,  Colonel  William  Cosby  arrived  in  New 
York  as  his  successor. 

The  first  act  of  the  new  Governor  was  one,  which,  having  its 
rise  at  first  in  a  mere  personal  quarrel,  was  destined  to  establish,  for  all 
time  in  America,  the  question  of  the  liberty  of  the  press.  The  act  of  the 
Governor  here  alluded  to,  was  the  institution  of  proceedings  against  Rip 
Van  Dam  to  recover  half  of  the  salary  which  the  latter  had  received 
during  his  occupation  of  the  Governor's  chair.  The  suit  w'as  decided 
against  Van  Dam,  who  was  consequently  suspended  from  the  exercise  of 
his  functions  as  President  of  the  Council.  This  unfair  decision  naturally 
aroused  the  indignation  of  the  people,  who  gave  vent  to  their  feelings  in 
squibs  and  lampoons  hurled  without  mercy  at  the  Governor  and  his 
party.  These  were,  in  turn,  answered  by  the  New  York  Gazette,  a  paper 
published  by  William  Bradford  in  the  interest  of  the  Government ;  and 
the  controversy  finally  grew  so  bitter  that  John  Peter  Zenger,  a  printer 
by  trade,  was  induced,  under  the  patronage,  as  was  supposed,  of  Rip 
Van  Dam,  to  start  a  new  paper,  the  New  York  Weekly  Journal — 
the  columns  of  which  were  to  be  devoted  to  opposing  the  colonial 
administration  of  Governor  Cosby.  The  columns  of  the  new  paper 
teemed  with  able  and  spicy  articles  assailing  the  acts  of  the  Governor — 
written,  probably,  by  William  Smith  and  James  Alexander,  the  two 
prominent  lawyers  of  New  York.  The  Governor,  and  those  members  of 
his  council  who  were  his  satellites,  were  not  long  in  bringing  themselves 

*Mr.  Van  Dam  was  an  eminent  merchant  in  the  City  of  New  York,  "  of  a  fair 
estate,"  says  Smith,  the  historian,  "  thoug-h  distinguished  more  for  the  integrity  of 
his  heart,  than  his  capacity  to  hold  the  reins  of  government." 

6 


82 

into  the  belief  that  these  articles  were  actionable  ;  and  thus  it  happened 
that  the  first  great  libel  suit  tried  in  this  city  was  instituted  by  the  Govern- 
ment, in  1734,  against  Zenger.  The  latter,  in  a  pamphlet  which  he 
wrote  afterward  upon  his  trial,  quaintly  says  :*  "As  there  was  bat  one 
Printer  in  the  Province  of  New  York  that  printed  a  public  News  Paper, 
I  was  in  Hopes,  if  I  undertook  to  publish  another,  I  might  make  it  worth 
my  while,  and  I  soon  found  that  my  Hopes  were  not  groundless.  My 
first  paper  was  printed  November  15th,  1733,  and  I  continued  printing, 
and  pubhshing  of  them  (I  thought  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  body)  till 
the  January  following,  when  the  Chief  Justice  was  pleased  to  animadvert 
upon  the  Doctrine  of  Libels  in  a  long  charge  given  in  that  term  to  the 
Grand  Jury." 

Zenger  was  thereupon  imprisoned  on  Sunday,  the  17th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1734,  by  virtue  of  a  warrant  from  the  Governor  and  Council ;  and  a 
concurrence  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  in  the  prosecution  was 
requested.  The  House,  however,  declined  by  laying  the  request  of  the 
Council  upon  the  table.  The  Governor  and  Council  then  ordered  the 
libelous  papers  to  be  burned  by  the  common  hangman  or  whipper,  near 
the  pillory.  But  both  the  common  whipper  and  the  common  hangman 
were  officers  of  the  Corporation,  not  of  the  Crown,  and  they  declined 
officiating  at  the  illumination.  The  papers  were  therefore  burned  by  the 
Sheriffs  negro  servant  at  the  order  of  the  Governor.!  An  inefi'ectual 
§ittempt  was.  next  made  to  procure  an  indictment  against  Zenger,  but  the 

*This  pamphlet,  which  is  exceedingly  rare,  i^  a  large  8vo.  (5)^  x  9)^  inches)  of 
39  pages.  It  is  entitled  :  '^A  Brief  Narrative  of  the  Case  and  Trial  of  John  Peter 
Zenger,  Printer  of  the  New  York  Weekly  Journal  :—New  York  Printed  :  Lancaster 
re-printed,  and  sold  hy  W.  Bunlap,  at  the  New  Printing  Offices,  Queen  Street,  1736. 

f  In  the  pamphlet  before  alluded  to,  Zenger  gives  the  following  account  of  this 
proceeding : 

'*  At  a  council  held  at  Fort  George  in  New  York  the  2d  of  November,  1734^ 
present,  His  Excellency  William  Cosby,  Captain-G-eneral  and  Governor-in-Chief,  &c., 
Mr.  Clark,  Mr.  Harrison,  Dr.  Golden  "  [a  note  says  Dr.  Colden  was  that  day  at  Esopus, 
ninety  miles  away],  "  Mr.  Livingston,  Mr.  Kennedy,  Mr.  Chief  Justice,  Mr.  Cortlandt, 
Mr.  Lane,  Mr.  Horsmanden : 

"  Whereas,  By  an  order  of  the  Board  of  this  day,  some  of  John  Peter  Zenger's 
journals,  entitled  the  New  York  Weekly  Journal,  Nos.  7,  47,  48,  49,  were  ordered  to 
be  burned  by  the  hands  of  the  common  hangman  or  whipper,  near  the  pillory  of  this 
city,  on  Wednesday,  the  6th  inst.,  between  the  hours  of  eleven  and  twelve,  It  is 
therefore  ordered  that  the  Mayor  and  Magistrates  of  this  city  do  attend  at  the  burn- 
ing of  the  several  papers  or  journals  aforesaid,  numbered  as  above-mentioned. 

*'  FiiED.  Morris,  D.  CI.  Con. 

"  To  Robert  Lurting,  Esq.,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York,  cfec." 

(The  Aldermen  protested  vigorously  against  the  execution  of  this  order,  and 
refused  to  instruct  the  Sherijff  to  execute  it.  The  Sheriff  burned  the  papers,  however^ 
or  "  delivered  iliem  into  tlce  hands  of  las  own  negro  and  ordered  him  to  put  them  inta 
the  fire,  which  he  did.'" 


83 

Grand  Jury  refused  (to  find  a  bill.  The  Attorney-General  was  then 
directed  to  file  no  information  against  him  for  printing  the  Hbels,  and  he 
was  consequently  kept  in  prison  until  another  term.  His  counsel  offered 
exceptions  to  the  commissions  of  the  judges,  which  the  latter  not  only 
refused  to  hear,  but  excluded  his  counsel,  Messrs.  Smith  and  Alexander, 
from  the  bar.  Zenger  then  obtained  other  counsel — John  Chambers  of  New 
York,  and  Andrew  Hamilton  of  Philadelphia.  The  trial  at  length  came  on 
and  excited  great  interest.  The  truth,  under  the  old  English  law  of  libel, 
could  never  be  given  in  evidence,  and  was  of  course  excluded  on  the 
present  trial.  Hamilton,  nevertheless,  tried  the  case  with  consummate 
ability.  He  showed  the  jury  that  they  were  the  judges  as  well  of  the 
law  as  the  fact,  and  Zenger  was  acquitted.  "  The  jury,"  says  Zenger  in 
relating  the  result  of  the  trial,  "  withdrew,  and  in  a  small  time  returned, 
and  being  asked  by  the  clerk  whether  they  were  agreed  upon  their 
verdict  and  whether  John  Peter  Zenger  was  guilty  of  printing  and 
publishing  the  libels  in  the  information  mentioned,  they  answered  by 
Thomas  Hunt,  their  foreman,  not  guilty,  upon  which  there  were  three 
huzzas  in  the  hall,  which  was  crowded  with  people,  and  the  next  day  I 
was  discharged  from  imprisonment." 

Immediately  after  the  trial  the  Corporation  voted  the  freedom  of  the 
city  in  a  magnificent  gold  box*  to  Andrew  Hamilton  "  for  the  remarkable 
service  done  to  tlus  city  and  colony,  by  his  defense  of  the  rights  of  man- 
kind and  the  liberty  of  the  press." 

Twenty  years  afterward,  however,  the  Government  organ  itself  fell 
under  the  displeasure  of  the  reigning  powers.  Upon  the  reUnquishment 
of  ids  paper  in  1743,  it  was  resumed  by  James  Parker  under  the  double 
title  of  the  New  York  Gazette  and  Weeklg  Post  Boy.  In  1753,  ten  years 
afterward,  Parker  took  a  partner  by  the  name  of  William  Wayman. 
But  neither  of  the  partners,  nor  both  of  them  together,  possessed  the 
indomitable  spirit  of  John  Peter  Zenger.  Having  in  March  in  1756, 
published  an  article  reflecting  upon  the  people  of  Ulster  and  Orange 
Counties,  the  Assembly,  entertaining  a  high  regard  for  the  majesty  of  the 
people,  took  offense  thereat,  and  both  the  editors  were  taken  into  custody 
by  the  sergeant-at-arms.  What  the  precise  nature  of  the  insult  upon  the 
sovereign  people  of  those  counties  was,  does  not  appear.  But  the  editors 
behaved  in  a  craven  manner.     They  acknowledged  their  fault  begged 

*  This  gold  box  was  five  ounces  and  a  half  in  weight  and  inclosed  the  seal  of 
the  said  Freedom.  On  its  lid  was  engraved  the  arms  of  the  City  of  New  York  and 
these  mottoes :  On  the  outer  part  of  the  lid,  Demersa  Leges — Limefaota 
LiBERTAS — HoEC  Tandem  Emergunt.  On  the  inner  side  of  the  lid,  Non  Nummis — 
ViRTUTE  Paratur.  On  the  front  of  the  rim,  Ita  Cuique  Eveniat,ut  De  Republica 
Meruit.  '*  Which  freedom  and  box,"  naively  adds  Zenger,  "  was  presented  in  the 
manner  that  had  been  directed,  and  gratefully  accepted  by  the  said  Andrew  Hamil- 
ton, Esquire." 


84 

pardon  of  the  House,  and  paid  the  costs  of  the  proceedings,  in  addition 
to  all  which  they  gave  up  the  name  of  the  author.  He  proved  to  be  none 
other  than  the  Rev.  Hezekiah  Watkins,  a  missionary  to  the  County  of 
Ulster,  residing  at  Newburg.  The  reverend  gentleman  was  accordingly 
arrested,  brought  to  New  York,  and  voted  guilty  of  a  high  misdemeanor 
and  contempt  of  the  authority  of  the  House.  Of  what  persuasion  was 
this  Mr.  Watkins  does  not  appear.  But  neither  Luther,  nor  Calvin,  nor 
Hugh  Latimer  would  have  betrayed  the  right  of  free  discussion  as  he  did 
by  begging  the  pardon  of  the  House,  standing  to  receive  a  reprimand, 
paying  the  fees,  and  promising  to  be  more  circumspect  in  future — for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  his  discharge.  This  case  affords  the  most  singular 
instance  of  the  exercise  of  the  doubtful  power  of  punishing  for  what  are 
called  contempts  on  record.  A  court  has  unquestionably  a  right  to 
protect  itself  from  indignity  while  in  session,  and  so  has  a  legislative 
body,  although  the  power  of  punishing  for  such  an  offense  without  trial 
by  jury,  is  now  gravely  questioned.  But  for  a  legislative  body  to  extend 
the  mantle  of  its  protection  over  its  constituency  in  such  a  matter  is  an 
exercise  of  power  of  which,  even  in  the  annals  of  the  Star  Chamber,  when 
presided  over  by  Archbishop  Laud,  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  parallel.  Sure 
it  is  that  a  people,  then  or  now,  who  would  elect  such  members  to  the 
Legislature  deserve  nothing  else  than  contempt.  From  the  establish- 
ment, however,  of  the  independence  of  the  country  until  the  present  day 
there  has  been  no  attempt  to  fetter  the  press  by  censors  or  by  law,  while 
the  old  Enghsh  law  of  hbel,  which  prevailed  until  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century,  has  been  so  modified  as  to  allow  the  truth  in  all  cases  to 
be  given  in  evidence.  For  the  attainment  of  this  great  end  the  country 
is  indebted,  more  than  to  all  other  men,  to  the  early  and  bosom  friend  of 
the  late  venerable  Dr.  Nott — Alexander  Hamilton. 

At  length  the  incessant  quarrels  of  the  weak  and  avaricious  Cosby 
with  the  people  and  their  representatives  was  suddenly  terminated  by  his 
death  in  March,  1736.  On  his  decease,  Mr.  George  Clarke,  long  a  member 
of  the  Council,  after  a  brief  struggle  with  Mr.  Van  Dam  for  the  presi- 
dency, succeeded  to  the  direction  of  the  government,  and,  being  shortly 
afterward  commissioned  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  continued  at  the 
head  of  the  colonial  administration  from  the  autumn  of  1736  to  that  of 
1743.  Mr.  Clarke  was  remotely  connected  by  marriage  with  the  family 
of  Lord  Clarendon,  having  been  sent  over  as  Secretary  of  the  colony  in 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  Being,  moreover,  a  man  of  strong  common 
sense  and  of  uncommon  tact,  and  by  reason  of  his  long  residence  in  the 
colony,  and  the  several  official  stations  he  had  held,  well  acquainted  with 
its  affairs,  his  administration — certainly,  until  toward  its  close — was 
comparatively  popular,  and,  all  circumstances  considered,  eminently  suc- 
cessful. In  the  brief  struggle  for  power  between  himself  and  Mr.  Van 
Dam,    the  latter   had    been  sustained  by  the  popular  party,  while  the 


85 

officers  of  the  Crown  and  the  partisans  of  Cosby,  with  few,  if  any 
exceptions,  adhered  to  Mr.  Clarke.  This  difficulty,  however,  had  been 
speedily  ended  by  a  royal  confirmation  of  the  somewhat  doubtful  author- 
ity assumed  by  Mr.  Clarke.  His  own  course,  moreover,  on  taking  the 
seals  of  office,  was  conciliatory.  In  his  first  speech  to  the  General 
Assembly,  he  referred  in  temperate  language  to  the  unhappy  divisions 
which  had  of  late  disturbed  the  colony,  and  which  he  thought  it  was 
then  a  favorable  moment  to  heal.  The  English  flour-market  having  been 
overstocked  by  large  supplies  furnished  from  the  other  colonies,  the 
attention  of  the  Assembly  was  directed  to  the  expediency  of  encouraging 
domestic  manufactures  in  various  departments  of  industry.  To  the 
Indian  afi'airs  of  the  colony  Mr.  Clarke  invited  the  special  attention  of 
the  Assembly.  The  military  works  of  Fort  Hunter  being  in  a  dilapi- 
dated condition,  and  the  object  of  affording  protection  to  the  Christian 
settlements  through  the  Mohawk  Valley  having  been  accomplished,  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  suggested  the  erection  of  a  new  fort  at  the  carry- 
ing-place between  the  Mohawk  Biver  and  Wood  Creek,*  leading  into 
Oneida  Lake,  and  thence  through  the  Oswego  River  into  Lake  Ontario ; 
and  the  transfer  of  the  garrison  from  Fort  Hunter  to  this  new  and  com- 
manding position.  He  hkewise  recommended  the  repairing  of  the  block- 
house at  Oswego,  and  the  sending  of  smiths  and  other  artificers  into  the  ^ 
Indian  country,  es{)ecially  among  the  Senecas.f 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  year  1738 — if  we  except  the  estab- 
lishing of  a  quarantine  on  Bedloe's  Island  and  the  opening  of  Rector 
street — but  little  attention  was  paid  to  local  affairs — the  principal  histori- 
cal incident  of  that  year  being  the  memorable  contested  election  between 

*  The  site,  afterward,  of  Fort  Stanwix,  now  the  opulent  town  of  Rome. 

f  In  the  course  of  this  session  of  the  G-eneral  Assembly,  Chief  Justice  De 
Lancey,  Speaker  of  the  Legislative  Council,  announced  that  his  duties  in  the  Supreme 
Court  would  render  it  impossible  for  him  to  act  as  Speaker  through  the  session.  It 
was  therefore  ordered  that  the  oldest  Councillor  present  should  thenceforward  act  as 
Speaker.     Under  this  order,  Dr.  Cadwallader  Colden  first  came  to  the  chair. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  October,  the  Council  resolved  that  they  would  hold 
their  sittings  in  the  common  council  chamber  of  the  City  Hall.  The  House  imme- 
diately returned  a  message  that  they  were  holding  their  sessions,  and  should 
continue  to  hold  them,  in  that  chamber ;  and  that  it  was  conformable  to  the  consti- 
tution that  the  Council,  in  its  legislative  capacity,  should  sit  as  a  distinct  and  separate 
body.  During  the  same  session,  also,  the  Council  having  sent  a  message  to  the  House 
by  the  hand  of  a  deputy-clerk,  a  message  was  transmitted  back,  signifying  that  the 
House  considered  such  a  course  disrespectful.  Until  that  time  messages  had  been 
conveyed  between  the  Houses,  with  bills,  resolutions,  &c.,  by  the  hands  of  their 
members  respectively.  The  House  considered  the  sending  of  a  clerk  an  innovation 
upon  their  privileges  ;  and  Colonel  Phillipse,  Mr.  Verplank,  and  Mr.  Johnson  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon  the  Council  and  demand  satisfaction.  The 
Council  healed  the  matter  by  a  conciliatory  resolution,  declaring  that  no  disrespect 
had  been  intended. 


86 

Adolphe  Philipse  and  G-erret  Van  Home,  in  connection  witli  which , 
owing  to  the  extraordinary  skill  and  eloquence  of  Mr.  Smith,  father  of 
the  historian,  and  of  counsel  for  Van  Home,  the  Hebrew  freeholders  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  from  which  place  both  parties  claimed  to  have  been 
returned  to  the  Assembly,  were  most  unjustly  disfranchised,  on  the  ground 
of  their  religious  creed,  and  their  votes  rejected.  The  colony  was  greatly 
excited  by  this  question,  and  the  persuasive  powers  exerted  by  Mr.  Smith 
are  represented  to  have  been  wonderful — equaling,  probably,  if  not  sur- 
passing, those  of  Andrew  Hamilton,  four  years  previously,  in  the  great 
libel  case  of  Zenger — and  possibly  not  excelled  even  by  Patrick  Henry 
a  few  years  afterward,  when  he  dethroned  the  reason  of  the  court,  and 
led  captive  the  jury,  in  the  great  tobacco  case  in  Virginia. 

The  years  1738  and  1739,  were  marked  by  increasing  pohtical  ex- 
citement; and  the  dividing  line  of  parties,  involving  the  great  principles 
of  civil  liberty  on  the  one  side  and  the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown  on  the 
other,  were  more  distinctly  drawn,  perhaps,  than  at  any  antecedent 
period.  The  administrations  of  the  earlier  English  Governors,  Nicholls 
and  Lovelace,  were  benevolent  and  almost  parental.  Andross,  it  is  true, 
was  a  tyrant ;  and  during  his  administration  parties  were  formed,  as  in 
England,  upon  the  mixed  questions  of  politics  and  religion,  which 
dethroned  the  last  and  most  bigoted  of  the  Stuarts,  and  brought  AVilliam 
and  Mary  upon  the  throne.  Dongan,  however,  the  last  of  the  Stuart 
Governors  in  New  York,  although  a  Roman  Catholic,  was  nevertheless 
mild  in  the  administration  of  the  government,  and  a  gentleman  in  his 
feelings  and  manners.  It  was  upon  his  arrival  in  the  autumn  of  1683, 
that  the  freeholders  of  the  colony,  as  we  have  seen,  were  invested  with 
the  right  of  choosing  representatives  to  meet  the  Governor  in  General 
Assembly.  For  nearly  twenty  years  subsequent  to  the  revolution  of 
1689,  the  colony  was  torn  by  personal,  rather  than  political  factions, 
having  their  origin  in  the  controversy  which  compassed  the  judicial 
murder  of  the  unhappy  Leisler  and  his  son-in-law,  Milburne.  These 
factions  dying  out  in  the  lapse  of  years,  other  questions  arose,  the  princi- 
pal of  which  was  that  important  one  which  always,  sooner  or  later, 
springs  up  in  every  English  colony — involving,  on  the  one  hand,  as  I 
have  already  remarked,  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  on  the  other  the 
claims  of  the  Crown.  Invariably,  almost,  if  not  quite,  the  struggle  is 
originated  upon  some  question  of  revenue — either  in  the  levying  thereof, 
or  in  its  disposition,  or  both.  Thus  in  the  origin  of  those  political  parties 
in  New  York,  which  continued  with  greater  or  less  acrimony  until  the 
separation  from  the  parent  country,  Sloughter  and  Fletcher  had  both 
endeavored  to  obtain  grants  of  revenue  to  the  Crown  for  life,  but  had 
failed.  Subsequently  grants  had  been  occasionally  made  to  the  officers 
of  the  Crown  for  a  term  of  years;  but  latterly,  especially  during  the 
administration  of  Governor  Cosby,  the  General  Assembly  had  grown  more 


87 

refractory  upon  the  subject — pertinaciously  insisting  that  they  would  vote 
the  salaries  for  the  officers  of  the  Crown  only  with  the  annual  supplies. 
This  was  a  principle  which  the  Governors,  as  the  representatives  of  the 
Crown,  felt  bound  to  resist,  as  being  an  infringement  of  the  royal  prerog- 
ative. Henceforward,  therefore,  until  Ihe  colony  cast  off  its  allegiance, 
the  struggle  in  regard  to  the  revenue  and  its  disposition,  was  almost  per- 
petually before  the  people,  in  one  form  or  another ;  and  in  some  years, 
owing  to  the  obstinacy  of  the  representatives  of  the  Crown  on  one  side, 
and  the  inflexibility  of  the  representatives  of  the  people  on  the  other, 
supphes  were  not  granted  at  all.  Mr.  Clarke,  although  he  had  the 
address  to  throw  off,  or  to  evade,  the  difficulty,  for  the  space  of  two  years, 
was  nevertheless  doomed  soon  to  encounter  it.  Accordingly,  in  his  speech 
to  the  Assembly  at  the  autumnal  session  of  1738,  he  complained  that 
another  year  had  elapsed  without  any  provision  being  made  for  the  sup- 
port of  his  Majesty's  government  in  the  province — the  neglect  having 
occurred  by  reason  of  "  a  practice  not  warranted  by  the  usage  of  any 
former  General  Assemblies."  He  therefore  insisted  strongly  upon  the 
adoption  of  measures  for  the  payment  of  salaries;  for  the  payment  of 
pubhc  creditors  ;  and  for  the  general  security  of  the  public  credit  by  the 
creation  of  a  sinking-fund  for  the  redemption  of  the  bills  of  the  colony. 

The  Assembly  was  refractory.  Instead  of  compl3dng  with  the  demands 
of  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  House  resolved  unanimously  that  they 
would  grant  no  supplies  upon  that  principle ;  and  in  regard  to  a  sinking 
fund  for  the  redemption  of  the  bills  of  credit  afloat,  they  refused  any 
other  measure  than  a  continuance  of  the  existing  excise.  These  spirited 
and  peremptory  resolutions  gave  high  offense  to  the  representative  of  the 
Crown ;  and  on  the  day  following  their  adoption,  the  Assembly  was  sum- 
moned to  the  fort,  and  dissolved  by  a  speech,  declaring  the  said  resolu- 
tions "  to  be  such  presumptuous,  daring,  and  unprecedented  steps  that  he 
could  not  look  upon  them  but  with  astonishment,  nor  could  he  with  honor 
suffer  their  authors  to  sit  any  longer." 

The  temper  of  the  new  Assembly,  summoned  in  the  spring  of  the 
succeeding  year,  1739,  was  no  more  in  unison  with  the  desires  of  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  than  that  of  the  former.  The  demand  for  a  perma- 
nent supply-bill  was  urged  at  several  successive  sessions,  only  to  be  met 
with  obstinate  refusals.  The  second  session,  held  in  the  autumn,  was 
interrupted  in  October,  by  a  prorogation  of  several  days,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  affording  the  members  leisure  "  to  reflect  seriously  "  upon  the 
line  of  duty  required  of  them  by  the  exigencies  of  the  country ;  for,  not 
only  was  the  Assembly  resolutely  persisting  in  the  determination  to  make 
only  annual  grants  of  supplies,  but  they  were  preparing  to  trench  yet 
further  upon  the  royal  prerogative,  by  insisting  upon  specific  applications 
of  the  revenue,  to  be  inserted  in  the  bill  itself.  Meantime,  on  the 
13th  of  October,  the  Lieutenant-Govenor   brought   the   subject  of  his 


88 

differences  with  the  Assembly  formally  before  his  privy  council.  In 
regard  to  the  new  popular  movement  of  this  Assembly,  insisting  upon  a 
particular  application  of  the  revenues  to  be  granted  in  the  body  of  the 
act  for  the  support  of  the  government,  the  Lieutenant- Go venor  said  they 
had  been  moved  to  that  determination  by  the  example  of  New  Jersey, 
where  an  act  of  that  nature  had  lately  been  passed.  He  was  unwilling 
to  allow  any  encroachment  upon  the  rights  of  the  Crown.  Yet,  in  con- 
sideration of  the  defenseless  situation  of  the  colony,  he  felt  uneasy  at  such 
a  turn  of  affairs,  and  not  being  disposed  to  revive  old  animosities,  or  to 
create  new  ones  by  another  summary  dissolution,  he  asked  the  advice  of 
the  council.  The  subject  was  referred  to  a  committee,  of  which  the  Hon. 
Daniel  Horsmanden,  an  old  member  of  the  council,  was  chairman.  This 
gentleman  was  one  of  the  most  sturdy  supporters  of  the  royal  preroga- 
tive ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  existing  posture  of  affairs,  and  the 
necessity  of  a  speedy  provision  for  the  pubHc  safety,  the  committee 
reported  unanimously  against  a  dissolution.  They  believed,  also,  that 
the  Assembly,  and  the  people  whom  they  represented,  had  the  disputed 
point  so  much  at  heart  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  business  with 
them  unless  it  was  conceded;  and  besides,  it  was  argued,  should  a 
dissolution  take  place,  there  was  no  reason  for  supposing  that  the  next 
Assembly  would  be  less  tenacious  in  asserting  the  offensive  principle. 
Since,  moreover,  the  Governor  of  New  Jersey  had  yielded  the  point,  the 
committee  advised  the  same  course  in  New  York.*  The  point  was  con- 
ceded ;  and  the  effect,  for  the  moment,  was  to  produce  a  better  state  of 
feeling  in  the  Assembly.  Supplies  were  granted,  but  only  for  the  year  ; 
and  various  appropriations  were  made  for  placing  the  city  and  colony  in 
a  posture  of  defense. 

But  it  is  seldom  that  the  wheels  of  revolution  roll  backward,  and 
the  concession  which  allowed  the  General  Assembly  to  prescribe  the 
application  or  disposition  of  the  supplies  they  voted,  ever  before  claimed 
as  the  legal  and  known  prerogative  of  the  Crown,  appeased  the  popular 
party  only  for  a  very  short  time.  Indeed,  nothing  is  more  certain, 
whether  in  monarchies  or  republics,  than  that  the  governed  are  never 

*SGe  the  old  minutes  of  the  executive  or  privy  council,  in  manuscript,  in  the 
Secretary  of  State's  office  in  Albany.  To  avoid  confusion  hereafter,  it  may  be  well 
to  state  in  this  connection,  that  the  Council  acted  in  a  two-fold  capacity :  first,  as 
advisary;  second,  as  legislative.  *'In  the  first,"  says  Smith,  in  his  chapter,  entitled 
Political  State,  "  they  are  a  privy  council  to  the  Governor."  "When  thus  acting-  they 
are  often  called  the  executive  or  miajesty's  council.  Hence,  privy  council  and  exe- 
cutive council  are  synonymous.  During  the  session  of  the  legislature,  however,  the 
same  council  sat  (without  the  presence  of  the  Governor)  as  a  legislative  council ;  and 
in  such  capacity  exercised  the  same  functions  as  the  Senate  of  the  present  day — so 
far  as  regards  the  passing  of  laws.  The  journals  of  this  last  or  legislative  council 
have  recently  been  published  by  the  State  of  New  York  under  admirable  editorship 
and  the  supervision  of  Dr.  E.  B.  O'Callaghan. 


89 

satisfied  with  concessions,  while  each  successful  demand  only  increases 
the  popular  clam9r  for  more.  Thus  it  was  in  the  experience  of  Mr. 
Clarke.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  the  year  1740  passed  without  any 
direct  collision  upon  the  question  of  prerogative ;  although  at  the  second 
short  session  of  that  year,  the  speech  alleged  the  entire  exhaustion  of  the 
revenue,  and  again  demanded  an  ample  appropriation  for  a  term  of  years. 
But  the  controversy  was  reopened  at  the  spring  session  of  the  following 
year — 1741 — on  which  occasion  the  Lieutenant-Governor  delivered  a 
speech,  long  beyond  precedent,  and  enumerating  the  grievances  of  the 
Crown  by  reason  of  the  continued  encroachments  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly. The  speech  began  by  an  elaborate  review  of  the  origin  and  progress 
of  the  difficulties  that  had  existed  between  the  representatives  of  the 
Crown  and  the  Assembly,  in  respect  to  the  granting  of  supplies,  evincing 
— such,  indeed,  is  the  inference — a  want  of  gratitude  on  the  part  of  the 
latter,  in  view  of  the  blessings  which  the  colony  had  enjoyed  under  the 
paternal  care  of  the  Government  since  the  revolution  of  1688.  But  it  was 
not  in  connection  with  the  supplies,  only,  that  the  Assembly  had  invaded 
the  rights  of  the  Crown.  It  was  the  undoubted  prerogative  of  the  Crown 
to  appoint  the  Treasurer.  Yet  the  Assembly  had  demanded  the  election 
of  that  officer.  Not  satisfied  with  that  concession,  they  had  next  claimed 
the  right  of  choosing  the  Auditor- General.  Faihng  in  that  demand,  they 
had  sought  to  accomphsh  their  object  by  withholding  the  salary  from  that 
officer.  These  encroachments,  he  said,  had  been  gradually  increasing  from 
year  to  year,  until  apprehensions  had  been  seriously  awakened  in  Eng- 
land '•  that  the  plantations  are  not  without  thoughts  of  throwing  off  their 
dependence  on  the  Crown."'  He,  therefore,  admonished  the  Assembly  to  do 
away  with  such  an  impression  "  by  giving  to  his  Majesty  such  a  revenue, 
and  in  such  a  manner,  as  will  enable  him  to  pay  his  own  officers  and 
servants,"  as  had  been  done  from  the  Bevolution  down  to  the  year  1709 
— during  which  period  the  colony  was  far  less  able  to  bear  the  burden 
than  now."* 

Thus  early  and  deeply  were  those  principles  striking  root  in  America, 
which  John  Hampden  had  asserted  and  poured  out  his  blood  to  defend, 
in  the  great  ship-money  contest  with  Charles  I — which  brought  that 
unhappy  monarch  to  the  block — and  which — fulfilling  the  apprehensions 
of  Mr.  Clarke — thirty-five  years  afterward,  separated  the  colonies  from 
the  British  Crown  — although  in  the  answer  of  the  House  to  the  "  insinua- 
tion of  a  suspicion  "  of  a  desire  for  independence,  with  real  or  affected 
gravity,  they  "  vouched  that  not  a  single  person  in  the  colony  had  any 
such  thoughts  ;''  adding — "  for  under  what  government  can  we  be  better 
protected,  or  our  liberties  or  properties  so  weU  secured  ?'' 

*Vide  Journals  of  the  Colonial  Assemi)ly,  vol.  1,  Hugh  Gains'  edition.      This 

(1741)  was  the  year  in  which  the  chapel,  barracks,  Secretary's  office,  &c.,  at  Fort 
George  (the  Battery)  were  burnt,  and  the  speech  referred  to  in  the  text  asked  an 
apropriation  for  their  rebuilding — but  without  success. 


90 

But  the  popularity  of  Mr.  Clarke  was  rapidly  on  the  wane.  Chief 
Justice  De  Lancy,  the  master-spirit  of  the  Council,  having  rather  aban- 
doned him,  and  attached  himself  to  the  popular  party,  managed  to  preserve 
a  considerate  coolness  on  the  part  of  that  body  toward  their  executive  head, 
while  the  House  heeded  but  little  his  recommendations. 

The  only  subject  of  local  excitement,  however,  during  the  year  1741, 
was  the  celebrated  plot  supposed  to  have  been  discovered  on  the  part  of 
the  negroes,  to  murder  the  inhabitants  of  New  York,  and  ravage  and 
burn  the  city — an  affair  which  reflects  httle  credit  either  upon  the  dis- 
cernment or  the  humanity  of  that  generation. 

African  slavery  had  existed  from  an  early  period  in  New  Netherland. 
It  was  encouraged  as  the  most  certain  and  economical  way  of  introducing 
slavery  in  a  new  country,  where  there  was  no  surplus  population. 
The  slave-trade  was  brought  into  the  Dutch  Colony  by  the  Dutch 
West  India  Company,  and,  shortly  after  its  introduction,  became  a  con- 
siderable and  profitable  branch  of  its  shipping  interest.  A  "prime 
slave''  was  valued  from  one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars,  and  below  this  price  he  could  not  profitably  be  purchased 
from  Africa  or  the  West  Indies.  In  1702,  there  were  imported  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  African  slaves;  in  1718,  five  hundred  and  seventeen. 
After  that  year,  however,  the  traffic  began  to  fall  off,  the  natural 
increase  being  large.* 

As  far  back  as  1628,  slaves  constituted  a  portion  of  the  population 
of  New  Amsterdam ;  and  to  such  an  extent  had  the  traffic  in  them 
reached,  that,  in  1709,  a  slave-market  was  erected  at  the  foot  of  Wall 
street,  where  all  negroes  who  were  to  be  hired  or  sold  stood,  in  readiness 
for  bidders.  Their  introduction  into  the  colony  was  hastened  by  the 
colonial  establishment  of  the  Dutch  in  Brazil  and  upon  the  coast  of 
Guinea,  and  also  by  the  capture  of  Spanish  and  Portuguese  prizes  with 
Africans  on  board.  The  Boere-knechts,  or  servants,  whom  the  settlers 
brought  over  with  them  from  Holland,  soon  deserted  their  field-work  for 
the  fur  traffic,  thus  causing  European  laborers  to  become  scarce  and 
high ;  and,  as  a  natural  result,  slaves,  by  their  cheapness,  became  one  of 
the  staples  of  the  new  country.  In  1652,  the  Directors  at  Amsterdam 
removed  the  export  duty  of  eight  per  cent.,  which  had  been  hitherto  paid 
by  the  colonists  on  tobacco.  The  passage-money  to  New  Netherland 
was  also  lessened  from  fifty  to  thirty  guilders ;  and  besides  trading  to  the 

*  Almost  every  family  in  the  colony  owned  one  or  more  negro  servants ;  and 
among  the  richer  clashes  their  number  was  considered  a  certain  evidence  of  their 
master's  easy  circumstances.  About  the  year  1703 — a  period  of  prosperity  in  wealth 
and  social  refinement  with  the  Dutch  of  New  Amsterdam  —the  Widow  Van  Cort- 
landt  held  five  male  slaves,  two  female,  and  two  children  ;  Colonel  De  Peyster  had 
the  same  number;  William  Beekman,  two ;  Rip  Van  Dam,  six  ;  Mrs.  Stuyvesant,  five ; 
Mrs.  Kip,  seven  ;  David  Provoostd,  three,  etc. 


91 

Brazils,  the  settlers  were  allowed  "  to  sail  to  the  coast  of  Angola  and 
Africa  to  procure  as  many  negroes  as  they  might  be  willing  to  employ."* 
Several  outbreaks  had  already  happened  among  the  negroes  of  New 
Amsterdam ;  and  the  whites  lived  in  constant  anticipation  of  trouble  and 
danger  from  them.    Rumors  of  an  intended  insurrection,  real  or  imaginary, 
would  circulate  {as  in  the  negro  plot  of  1712),  and  the  whole  city  be 
thrown  into  a  state  of  alarm.     Whether  there  was  any  real  danger  on 
these  occasions,  cannot  be  known,  but  the  result  was  always  the  same, 
\\z. :  the  slaves  always  suffered,  many  dying  by  the  fagot  or  the  gallows. 
The  "Negro  Plot"  of  1741,  however,  forms  a  serious  and  bloody 
chapter  in  the  history  of  New  York.     At  this  distance  of  time  it  is  hard 
to   discover  the  truth  amid  the    fears  and  prejudices  which    attended 
that  public    calamity.      The    city    then    contained  some  ten    thousand 
inhabitants,  about    one-fifth  of  whom  were  African  slaves,   called    the 
"  black  seed  of  Cain."     Many  of  the  laws  for  their  government  were 
most  unjust  and    oppressive.      Whenever    three   of  them  were  found 
together  they  were  Hable  to  be  punished  by  forty  lashes  on  the  bare 
back,  and  the  same  penalty  followed  their  walking  with  a  club   outside 
of  their  master's  grounds  without  a  permit.     Two  justices  could  inflict 
any  punishment  except  amputation  or  death,  for  any  blow  or  assault  by  a 
slave  upon  a  Christian  or  a  Jew.   Such  was  the  outrageous  law.  New  York 
swarmed  with  negroes,  and  her  leading  merchants  were  engaged  in  the 
slave  trade,  at  that  time  regarded  fair  and  honorable.     New  York  then 
resembled  a  Southern  city,  with  its  calaboose  on  the  Park  Commons  and 
its  slave  market  at  the  foot  of  Wall  street. 

The  burning  of  the  public  buildings,  comprising  the  Governor's 
residence,  the  Secretary's  office,  the  chapel  and  barracks,  in  March,  1741, 
was  first  announced  to  the  General  Assembly  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
as  the  result  of  an  accident — a  plumber  who  had  been  engaged  upon  some 
repairs  having  left  fire  in  a  gutter  between  the  house  and  chapel.  But 
several  other  fires  occurring  shortly  afterward  in  different  parts  of  the 
city,  some  of  them,  perhaps,  under  circumstances  that  could  not  readily 
be  explained,  suspicions  were  awakened  that  the  whole  were  acts  of 
incendiaries.  Not  a  chimney  caught  fire — and  they  were  not  at  that  day 
very  well  swept — but  the  incident  was  attributed  to  design.  Such  was 
the  case  in  respect  to  the  chimney  of  Captain  Warren's  house,  situated 
near  the  ruins  of  the  public  buildings,  by  the  taking  fire  of  which  the 
roof  was  partially  destroyed  ;  and  other  instances  might  be  enumerated. 
Suspicion,  to  borrow  the  language  of  Shakspeare,  "  hath  a  ready  tongue," 
and  is  "  all  stuck  full  of  eyes,"  which  are  not  easily  put  to  sleep.     Inci- 

*  In  the  year  1755  a  census  of   slaves  was  taken  in  all  the  colonies  except 
Albany,  New  York^  and  Suffolk.     Borough  numbered  91  ;  Manor  of  Pelham,  24 ; 
Westchester,  73 ;  Bush  wick,  48  ;  Flatbush,  35  ;  New  Utrecht,  67 ;  Newtown,  87 
Oyster-Bay,  97  ;  etc.,  etc. 


92 

dents  and  circumstances,  ordinary  and   extraordinary,  were  seized  upon 
and  brought  together  by  comparison,  until  it  became  obvious  to  all  that 
there  was  actually  a  conspiracy  for  compassing  such  a  stupendous  act  of 
arson  as  the  burning  of  the  entire  town  and  murder  of  the  people.     Nor 
was  it  long  before  the  plot  was  fastened  upon  the  negro  slaves,  then 
forming  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  population.     A  negro,  with 
violent  gesticulation,  had  been  heard  tojutter  some  terms  of  unintelhgible 
jargon,  in  which  the  words  "  fire,  fire,  scorch,  scorch,"  were  heard  articu- 
lated, or  supposed  to  be  heard.     The  crew  of  a  Spanish  ship  brought 
into  the  port  as  a  prize,  were  sold  into  slavery.     They  were  suspected  of 
disaffection — as  well  they  might  be,  and  yet  be  innocent — seized  and  thrown 
into  prison.     Coals  were  found  disposed,  as  was  supposed,  for  burning  a 
hay-stack ;  a  negro  had  been  seen  jumping  over  a  fence  and  flying  from 
a  house  that  had  taken  fire  in  another  place,  and  in  a  word  a  vast  variety 
of  incidents,   trifling  and  unimportant,   were  collated  and  talked  over 
until    universal  consternation    seized   upon  the    inhabitants,   from    the 
highest  to  the  lowest.     As  Hume  remarks  of  the  Popish  plot  in  the  reign 
of  Charles  II,  "  each  breath  of  rumor  made  the  people  start  with  anxiety  ; 
their  enemies,  they  thought,  were  in  their  bosoms.     They  were  awakened 
from  their  slumbers  by  the  cry  of  Plot,  and  like  men  affrighted  and  in 
the  dark,  took  every  figure  for  a  specter.     The  terror  of  each  man  became 
a  source  of  terror  to   another,    and  an  universal  panic  being  diffused ; 
reason,  and 'argument,  and  common  sense,  and  common  humanity,  lost 
all  influence  over  them."*     A  Titus  Gates  was  found  in  the  person  of  a 
■poor  weak  servant-girl  in  a  sailor's  boarding-house,  named  Mary  Burton, 
who,  after  much  importunity,  confessed  that  she  had  heard  certain  negroes 
in  the  preceding  February,   conferring  in  private,  for  the  purpose  of 
setting  the  town  on  fire.     She  at  first  confined  the  conspirators  to  blacks, 
but  afterward   several  white  persons  were  included,  among  whom  were 
her  landlord,  whose  name  was  Hughson,  his  wife,  another  maid-servant, 
and  a  Boman  Catholic,  named  Ury.    Some  other  information  was  obtained 
from  other  informers,  and  numerous  arrests  were  made,  and  the  several 
strong  apartments  in  the  City  Hall,  called  "  the  jails,"  were  crowded  with 
prisoners,  amounting  in  number  to  twenty-six  whites  and  above  one  hund- 
red and  sixty  slaves.     Numerous  executions  took  place  upon  the  most 
frivolous  and  unsatisfactory  testimony,  but  jurors  and  magistrates  were 
alike  panic-stricken  and  wild  with  terror.     Among  the  sufferers  were 
Hughson,  his  wife,'|and  the  maid-servant,  as  also  the  Eomanist  Ury, 
who  was  capitally  accused,  not  only  as  a  conspirator,  but  for  officiating 
as  a  priest,  upon  an  old  law  of  the  colony,  heretofore  mentioned  as  having 
been  passed  at  the  instance  of  Governor  Bellamont,  to  drive  the  French 

*  Quoted  by  Dunlap,  who  has  given  a  good  collection  of  facts  respecting  this 
remarkable  plot,  though  not  rendered  into  a  well-digested  narrative.  See  chap, 
xxi.  of  his  History. 


93 

missionaries  from  among  the  Indians.  "  The  whole  summer  was  spent 
in  the  prosecutions  ;  every  new  trial  led  to  further  accusations  ;  a  coinci- 
dence of  slight  circumstances  was  magnified  by  the  general  terror  into 
Tiolent  presumptions  ;  tales  collected  without  doors,  mingUng  with  the 
proofs  given  at  the  bar,  poisoned  the  minds  of  the  jurors,  and  this  san- 
guinary spirit  of  the  day  suffered  no  check  until  Mary,  the  capital 
informer,  bewildered  by  frequent  examinations  and  suggestions,  began 
to  touch  characters  which  malice  itself  dared  not  suspect."  Then,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Popish  plot  and  the  prosecutions  for  witchcraft  in  Salem, 
the  magistrates  and  jurors  began  to  pause.  But  not  until  many  had 
been  sent  to  their  final  account  by  the  spirit  of  fanaticism  which  had 
bereft  men  of  their  reason,  as  innocent  of  the  charges  laid  against  them 
as  the  convicting  courts  and  jurors  themselves.  Thirteen  negroes  were 
burnt  at  the  stake,  eighteen  were  hanged,  and  seventy  transported.* 

The  year  1742,  if  for  no  other  reason,  is  memorable  in  the  annals 
of  the  city  from  the  fact  that  in  that  year  was  built  the  house  now  stand- 
ing on  the  site  of  No.  1  Broadway,  now  known  as  the  Washington 
Hotel,  and  the  oldest  house  in  the  City  of  New  York.  Previous  to  this 
year  (1742)  the  site  was  occupied  by  an  old  tavern  kept  by  a  Mrs.  Kocks, 
built  a  century  previous  by  her  husband,  Pieter  Kocks,  an  officer  in 
the  Dutch  service  and  an  active  leader  in  the  Indian  war  of  1693.  Mr. 
David  T.  Valentine — to  whom  New  York  is  indebted  more  than  to  any 
other  man  for  the  preservation  of  its  local  history,  and  for  which  she  can 
never  be  sufficiently  grateful — usually  remarkably  accurate,  states  that 
the  building.  No.  1  Broadway,  was  built  by  Archibald  Kennedy  (after- 
ward Earl  of  Cassilis),  then  Collector  of  the  Port  of  New  York.  This, 
however,  is  an  error.  It  was  built  by  Sir  Peter,  afterward  Admiral, 
Warren,!  K.  B. — whose  name  is  so  identified  with  the  naval  glory  of 
England,  during  his  residence  in  New  York  City.  Neither  pains  nor 
expense  were  spared  to  make  it  one  of  the  finest  mansions  in  this  coun- 
try.     The  plans  were  all  sent  out  from  Lisbon — the  exterior  and  interior 


*  Daniel  Horsmanden,  the  third  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  published  the 
history  of  this  strange  affair  in  a  ponderous  quarto.  He  was  concerned  in  the 
administration  of  the  judicial  proceedings,  however,  and  wrote  his  history  before 
the^  delusion  had  passed  away.  Chief-Justice  De  Lancey  presided  at  least  at  some 
of  the  trials,  and  he,  too,  though  an  able  and  clear-minded  man,  was  carried  away 
by  the  delusion.  James  De  Lancey  was  the  son  of  Stephen  De  Lancey,  a  French 
Huguenot  gentleman  from  Caen,  in  Normandy,  who  fled  from  persecution  in  France. 
Settling  in  New  York  in  1686,  he  married  a  daughter  of  M.  Van  Courlandt,  and 
was  thus  connected  with  one  of  the  most  opulent  families  in  the  province.  He  was 
also  an  active  member  of  the  House  of  Assembly  during  the  administration  of  Grov- 
ernor  Hunter.  His  son  James  was  sent  to  Cambridge  University  (England),  for  his 
education,  and  bred  to  the  profession  of  the  law.  On  being  elevated  to  the  bench,  such 
were  his  talents  and  application,  he  became  a  very  profound  lawyer. — Smith. 
f  After  whom  Warren  street  is  named. 


94 

being  similar  in  every  respect  to  that  of  the  British  ambassador  residing- 
at  the  Portu  -uese  capital.  The  house  was  fifty-six  feet  on  Broadway,  and 
when  erected,  the  rear  of  the  lot  was  bounded  by  the  North  Eiver. 
Greenwich  street  was  not  then  opened  or  built — the  North  River  washing 
the  shore.  One  room  of  this  edifice  deserves  particular  notice,  being  the 
banqueting-room,  twenty-six  by  forty,  and  used  on  all  great^occasions. 
After  the  British  forces  captured  New  York,  in  the  war  of  the  American 
Revolution,  as  the  most  prominent  house,  it  was  the  headquarters  of 
the  distinguished  British  commanders.  Sir  William  Howe,  Sir  Henry 
CHnton,  and  Sir  Guy  Carlton,  afterward  Lord  Dorchester,  all  in  succes- 
sion occupied  this  house  ;  and  it  is  a  memorable  fact  that  the  celebrated 
Major  Andre,  then  Adjutant- General  of  the  British  forces,  and  aid  to 
Sir  Henry  CHnton,  resided  in  this  house,  being  in  the  family  of  Sir 
Henry,  and  departed  from  its  portals  never  to  return,  when  he  went  up 
the  North  River  and  arranged  his  treasonable  project  with  the  traitor 
Arnold  at  West  Point. 

The  administration  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Clarke  was  ended  in  the 
autumn  of  1743,  by  the  arrival  of  Admiral  George  Clinton,  uncle  of  the 
Earl  of  Lincoln,  and  a  younger  son  of  the  late  Earl,  who  had  been 
appointed  to  the  government  of  New  York  through  the  interest  of  his 
friends,  to  allbrd  him  an  opportunity  of  mending  his  fortunes.  Mr. 
Clarke,  who,  in  the  commencement  of  his  administration,  had  succeeded 
m  conciliating  the  leaders  of  both  political  parties,  had  contrived  before 
the  close  of  his  career  to  lose  the  confidence  of  both,  so  that  his  retire- 
ment from  the  Government  was  regarded  with  universal  satisfaction.* 
Especially  had  he  incurred  the  resentment  of  the  Chief-Justice,  De 
Lancey ;  who,  strangely  enough,  though  usually  a  staunch  supporter  of 
the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown,  had  now  became,  to  some  extent,  a  favor- 

*  George  Clarke>  Esq.,  who,  in  various  official  stations,  was  for  almost  half  a 
century  connected  with  the  colonial  government  of  New  York,  was  an  Englishman, 
by  birth.  "  His  uncle,  Mr.  Blaithwait,  procured  the  Secretaryship  of  the  colony 
for  him  early  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  Ho  had  genius,  but  no  other  than  a 
common  writing-school  education ;  nor  did  he  add  to  his  stock  by  reading,  for  he 
was  more  intent  upon  improving  his  fortune  than  his  mind.  He  was  sensible,  artful, 
active,  cautious ;  had  a  perfect  command  of  his  temper,  and  was  in  his  address 
specious  and  civil.  Nor  was  any  man  better  acquainted  with  the  colony  and  its 
affairs."  He  successively  held  the  offices  of  Secretary,  Clerk  of  thi  Council,  Coun- 
cillor, and  Lieutenant-Governor ;  and  from  his  official  position  he  had  every  oppor- 
tunity of  enriching  himself  by  obtaining  grants  and  patents  of  land,  which,  fi'om 
his  knowledge  of  the  colony,  he  was  enabled  to  choose  in  the  most  advantageous 
locations.  He  was  a  courtier,  and  was  careful  never  to  differ  with  the  governors  of 
the  colony ;  although  during  Cosby's  stormy  career  he  usually  kept  himself  quiet 
at  his  country  villa  upon  the  edge  of  Hempstead  plains.  "His  lady  was  a  Hyde, 
a  woman  of  fine  accomplishments,  and  a  distant  relation  of  that  branch  of  the 
Clarendon  family.  She  died  in  New  York.  Mr.  Clarke  returned  to  England  in 
1745,  with  acquisitions  estimated  at  one  hundred  thousand  pounds.     He  purchased 


95 

ite  of  the  General  Assembly.  The  new  Governor  had  spent  most  of 
his  life  in  the  navy  ;  and,  according  to  the  earliest  English  historian  of 
New  York,  "  preferring  ease  and  good  cheer  to  the  restless  activity  of 
ambition,  there  wanted  nothing  to  engage  the  interest  of  his  powerful 
patrons  in  his  favor,  more  than  to  humor  a  simple-hearted  man,  who  had 
no  ill-nature,  nor  sought  anything  more  than  a  genteel  frugality  and 
common  civility  while  he  was  mending  those  fortunes,  until  his  friends  at 
court  could  recall  him  to  some  indolent  and  more  lucrative  station." 

Mr.  OHnton  arrived  in  New  York  on  the  22d  of  September? 
and  was  received  with  demonstrations  of  universal  satisfaction  by  the 
people.  Finding  that  the  General  Assembly  stood  adjourned  to  meet  in 
a  few  days,  and  ascertaining  that  the  people  would  be  pleased  with  an 
opportunity  of  holding  a  new  election,  the  Assembly  was  dissolved  on 
the  twenty-seventh,  and  writs  for  the  return  of  another  Assembly  issued 
the  same  day.  The  elections  were  conducted  without  political  acrimony, 
and  all  the  old  members,  with  but  seven  exceptions,  were  returned.  The 
session  opened  on  the  8th  of  November.  Meantime,  the  Governor 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  De]Lancey,  who  doubtless  had  the  moulding 
of  his  excellency's  speech.  Its  tone  was  conciliatory,  although  the 
sore  subject  of  a  permanent  revenue  was  opened  afresh.  But  this  was 
done  in  gentle  terms,  the  Governor  asking  for  a  grant  "  in  as  ample  a 
manner,  and  for  a  time  as  long  as  had  been  ffiven  under  any  of  his 
predecessors."  The  Assembly  was  informed  that,  owing*  to  the  critical 
state  of  affairs  in  Europe,  and  the  doubtful  attitude  in  which  Great 
Britain  and  France  stood  toward  each  other,  a  large  supply  of  military 
stores  for  the  defense  of  the  colony  had  been  received  from  the  parent 
government ;  and  the  Governor  hoped  the  Assembly  would  show  their 
thankfulness  by  making  an  adequate  provision  for  the  purchase  of 
others.  The  usual  recommendations  in  regard  to  the  Indian  intercourse 
of  the  colony  were  renewed,  and  an  appropriation  was  asked  for  rebuild- 
ing the  barracks  and  public  offices,  together  with  the  house  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, which  had  been  destroyed  by  fire.  The  latter  recommendation 
was  insisted  on  as  being  necessary  for  the  comfort  of  the  Governor's 
family. 

an  estate  in  Cheshire,  where  he  died  about  the  year  1761.  George  Clarke,  his 
grand-son,  and  the  heir  to  his  estates,  after  a  residence  in  America  of  about  thirty- 
five  years,  died  at  Otsego  about  the  year  1835.  His  eldest  son,  George  Hyde  Clarke* 
with  his  young  wife,  was  lost  in  the  ship  Albion,  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Ireland, 
in  the  summer  of  1820,  on  his  passage  from  New  York  to  England.  His  second 
son  then  returned  to  England  and  entered  into  possession  of  the  fortune  of  his 
father's  estates  situated  in  that  country.  By  the  vast  increase  in  price  of  his  Amer- 
ican lands,  Mr.  Clarke's  estates  in  this  country  became  of  princely  value  before  his 
death.  They  are  inherited  by  his  youngest  son,  George  Clarke,  Esq.,  who  at  present 
resides  in  the  noble  mansion  erected  by  his  father  a  few  years  before  his  decease,  upon 
the  margin  of  Otsego  Lake. 


96 

"  An  humble  address  "  was  voted  by  the  Council  in  reply,  drawn  up 
by  De  Lancey.  The  appointment  of  the  new  Governor  was  received  "  as 
an  additional  evidence  of  his  Majesty's  affection  for  his  people,  and  his 
zeal  for  the  liberty  of  mankind,  lately  most  evidently  demonstrated  in 
his  exposing  his  sacred  person  to  the  greatest  dangers  in  defense  of  the 
liberty  of  Europe."  In  all  other  respects  the  answer  was  an  echo  of  the 
speech.  The  address  of  the  House  was  more  than  an  echo;  it  was 
couched  in  language  of  excessive  flattery  to  the  new  Governor,  and  of 
fawning  adulation  toward  the  sovereign,  who  was  designated  "  the 
darling  of  his  own  people,  and  the  glorious  preserver  of  the  liberties  of 
Europe."  There  was,  however,  a  disposition  on  all  sides  to  be  pleased. 
The  Assembly  responded  to  the  demanded  appropriations,  voting  the 
Governor  fifteen  hundred  pounds  for  his  salary,  one  hundred  pounds  for 
house-rent,  four  hundred  pounds  for  fuel  and  candles,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  to  enable  him  to  visit  the  Indians,  and  eight  hundred  pounds 
for  the  purchase  of  presents  to  be  distributed  amongst  them.  Other 
appropriations  were  made  upon  a  scale  of  corresponding  liberality ;  and 
the  Governor  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  good  temper  of  the  Assembly, 
that  he  signed  every  bill  presented  for  his  approbation,  without  a 
murmur  of  disapprobation,  not  even  excepting  the  supply-bill,  which, 
notwithstanding  his  demand  to  the  contrary,  in  the  opening  speech,  was 
limited  to  the  year. 

But,  notwithstanding  these  reciprocal  manifestations  of  good  feeling  ; 
and  notwithstanding  also  the  amiable  traits  of  the  Governor's  natural 
disposition,  it  wiU  be  seen  in  the  progress  of  events  that  the  bluff  char- 
acteristics of  the  sailor  were  not  always  to  be  concealed ;  and  his  admin- 
istration, in  process  of  time,  became  as  tempestuous  as  the  element  upon 
which  he  was  certainly  more  at  home  than  upon  the  land. 

Advices  of  the  intended  invasion  of  his  majesty's  dominions,  in 
behalf  of  a  "Popish  Pretender,"  were  communicated  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  New  York  by  Governor  Clinton,  in  April,  1744.  In  con- 
nection with  this  anticipated  act  of  hostility,  which  would  of  course 
extend  to  the  contiguous  colonies  of  the  two  countries,  efficient  measures 
were  urged  for  placing  the  country  in  a  posture  of  defense.  The  temper 
of  the  colony,  in  regard  to  this  movement  of  France,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  immediate  action  of  the  Assembly.  In  the  Council,  Chief-Justice 
De  Lancy,  in  moving  an  address  of  thanks  for  the  speech,  offered  also 
a  resolution  expressive  of  the  abhorrence  of  that  body  of  the  designs  of 
Prance  in  favor  of  the  Pretender,  and  declaring  that  the  civil  and  religi- 
ous rights  of  his  majesty's  subjects  depended  on  the  Protestant  succesion. 
The  House  was  invited  to  join  in  the  address,  which  request,  though  a 
very  unusual  procedure,  was  readily  acquiesced  in,  and  the  address  was 
prepared  by  a  joint  committee  of  the  two  houses.  From  all  this  it  was 
evident  that  a  war  was  very  near  at  hand,  and  that  the  frontiers  of  the 


97 

colony  miglit  again,  very  soon,  be  subjected  to  the  ravages  of  a  foe  than 
whose  tender  mercies  nothing  could  be  more  cruel. 

In  1746,  the  small-pox  drove  the  Assembly  from  the  city  to  Green- 
wich ;  but  soon  appearing  there,  also,  produced  a  panic  that  for  several 
days  entirely  arrested  the  course  of  business.  The  Assembly  prayed  for 
a  recess  from  the  9th  of  March  to  the  12th  of  April,  and  also  for  leave  to 
adjourn  their  sittings  to  some  other  place.  Jamaica  and  Brooklyn  were 
suggested ;  but  in  the  opinion  of  the  Governor  the  demands  of  the  pub- 
lic service  forbade  so  long  an  interregnum,  and  he  therefore  directed  their 
adjournment  for  a  week,  to  meet  in  the  borough  of  Westchester.  They 
convened  there  accordingly ;  but  the  inconvenience  of  the  locality  was  such 
that  the  members  begged  permission  to  adjourn  even  back  to  the  infected 
city  again,  rather  than  remain  where  they  were.  In  the  end  the 
Governor  directed  them  to  transfer  their  sittings  to  Brooklyn,  at  which 
place  the  transaction  of  business  was  resumed  on  the  20th  of  March,  when 
an  address  to  the  Governor  was  ordered  to  be  prepared,  in  answer  to  that 
of  the  Council  respecting  the  rejection  of  the  before-mentioned  revenue- 
bill. 

Before  the  introduction  of  the  bill,  the  Assembly  had  inquired  of  the 
Governor  whether  he  had  any  objection  to  an  emission  of  paper  money 
to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  country;  to  which  question  the  proper 
answer  was  given  by  Mr.  Clinton,  that  "  when  the  bill  came  to  him  he 
would  declare  his  opinion."  The  bill  was  therefore  introduced  and 
jmssed  by  the  Assembly ;  but  the  Council,  disapproving  of  certain  of  its 
provisions,  requested  a  conference.  The  Assembly,  however,  declared 
that  inasmuch  as  it  was  a  money  bill,  they  would  consent  to  no  such  course 
upoA  the  subject.  The  Council  thereupon  summarily  rejected  the  bill,  and 
sent  up  an  address  to  the  Governor,  written  by  the  Chief  Justice, 
De  Lancey,  setting  forth  their  reasons,  by  which  their  course  had  been 
governed.  One  of  the  objections  to  the  bill,  according  to  this  representa- 
tion, was  found  in  the  fact,  "  that  the  money  proposed  to  be  raised  by  the 
bill  was  not  granted  to  his  Majesty,  or  to  be  issued  by  warrants  in  council, 
as  it  ought  to  have  been,  and  as  has  usually  been  done."  This  objection 
involved  the  old  question  of  the  royal  prerogative — nothing  more.  On 
the  subject  of  the  right  claimed  by  the  Assembly  of  exclusive  power  over 
the  details  of  money  bills,  the  address  asserted  "  the  equal  rights  of  the 
Council  to  exercise  their  judgments  upon  these  bills."  Various  other 
objections  of  detail  were  suggested  ;  but  the  two  points  specified  above > 
were  the  only  grounds  of  principle  upon  which  the  Council  relied  in  justi- 
fication of  its  course.  Yet  the  unreasonableness  of  the  assumption  of  the 
House,  that  the  Council  should  not  be  allowed  even  to  point  out  and  rectify . 
the  defects  of  anything  which  they  chose  to  call  a  money  bill,  was  argued 
at  considerable  length. 

There  was  yet  another  cause  of  irritation  on  the  part  of  the  House 

7 


98 

So  early  as  tlie  year  1709,  the  General  Assembly  had  found  it  necessary,  in 
providing  ways  and  means  for  the  public  service — especially  in  the  prose- 
cution of  the  several  wars  in  which  the  colony  had  been  involved  by  the 
parent  government — to  issue  a  paper  currency  called  bills  of  credit.  The 
operation  had  been  repeated  from  time  to  time,  in  emergent  cases — some- 
times with  the  approbation  of  the  Crown,  and  sometimes  not — until  these 
paper  issues  had  become  a  part  of  the  policy  of  the  colony.  Others  of 
the  colonies,  laboring  under  the  same  necessities,  had  resorted  to  the  same 
measures  of  finance ;  but  to  which  the  Crown,  jealous  of  its  prerogative 
in  all  matters  of  currency,  had  uniformly  been  opposed.  For  many  years, 
therefore,  antecedent  to  this  period,  the  royal  governors  had  arrived  in 
the  colony  clothed  with  instructions  against  allowing  farther  emissions  of 
bills  of  credit — instructions,  however,  which  the  stern  law  of  necessity 
had  seldom  allowed  them  to  enforce.  Still,  the  Crown,  keenly  alive  to  every 
step  of  independent  action  on  the  part  of  the  colonies,  was  persisting  in 
its  war  against  a  colonial  currency  even  of  paper ;  and  a  bill  was  now 
before  parliament,  upon  the  subject,  which  gave  great  alarm  to  the  people. 
Professedly,  its  design  was  merely  for  preventing  these  bills  of  credit 
from  being  made  a  legal  tender ;  but  it  was  discovered  that  the  bill  was 
to  have  a  far  more  extensive  operation — "  obliging  and  enjoining  the 
legislatures  of  every  colony  to  pay  strict  obedience  to  all  such  orders  and 
instructions  as  might  from  time  to  time  be  transmitted  to  them,  or  any  of 
them,  by  his  majesty  or  his  successors,  or  by  or  under  his  or  their 
authority."  Such  an  act,  it  was  justly  held,  "  would  establish  an  absolute 
power  in  the  Crown,  in  all  the  British  plantations,  that  would  be  inconsis- 
tent -VN^th  the  liberties  and  privileges  inherent  in  an  English  man,  while  he 
is  in  a  British  dominion."  * 

Incensed  at  this  stubborness  on  the  part  of  his  little  parliament, 
the  sailor-Governor  determined,  in  the  Assembly;  which  met  on  the  l*2th 
of  October,  1748,  to  reassert  the  prerogative  in  the  strongest  terms,  by 
bringing  the  subject  of  a  permanent  supply  to  a  direct  issue  ;  choosing, 
as  Mr.  Bancroft  has  remarked,  New  York  "  as  the  opening  scene  in  the 
final  contest  that  led  to  independence."  Accordingly,  on  the  14th  he  sent 
down  his  message  to  the  house,  in  which  he  demanded  p  permanent  support 
for  five  years.  The  message  stated  that  on  coming  to  the  administration 
of  the  government,  he  had  been  disposed  to  do  all  he  could,  consistently 
with  his  duty  to  the  king,  for  the  care  and  satisfaction  of  the  people. 
Hence,  reposing  confidence  in  the  advice  then  given  him,  he  had  given 
his  assent  to  various  acts  of  the  Assembly,  the  tendency  of  which,  as 
experience  had  taught  him,  was  to  weaken  the  authority  of  his  majesty's 
government.  Still,  as  the  country  was  very  soon  afterward  involved  in 
war,  he  had  forborne  to  take  that  attitude  in  the  premi  es  which  duty  to 
his  sovereign  seemed  to  require.  But  with  the  return  of  peace,  he  deemed 
it  to  be  his  indispensable  duty  to  put  a  stop  to  such  innovations.     Promi- 


99 

nent  among  these  was^the  practice  which  had  been  growing  up,  of  making 
only  an  annual  provision  for  the  payment  of  the  officers  of  the  Government. 
He  also  alluded  to  the  modern  practice  of  naming  the  officers  for  whose 
benefit  the  appropriations  were  made  in  the  act,  thus  interfering  with  the 
prerogative  in  the  appointing  honor.  He  admonished  the  Assembly  that 
he  should  give  his  assent  to  no  acts  of  that  character  for  the  future  ;  and 
demanded  an  appropriation  for  the  payment  of  the  Governor's  secretaries, 
judges,  and  other  salaried  officers,  for  the  term  of  five  years,  according  to 
the  practice  that  had  prevailed  during  the  administration  of  his  four 
immediate  predecessors,  namely,  Governors  Hunter,  Burnett,  Mont- 
gomery, and  Cosby.  The  inconvenience  of  these  annual  grants  of  salaries 
and  allowances  was  adverted  to,  and  objections  further  urged  against  the 
recent  method  of  intermixing  matters  of  an  entirely  diiferent  nature  with 
the  provisions  of  the  salary-bills,  and  tacking  new  grants  for  other  pur- 
poses to  the  Governor's  own  support. 

The  Assembly,  in  its  reply,  justly  regarding  the  request  for  a  perma- 
nent supply  as  a  direct  attempt  to  render  the  Crown  independent  of  the 
people,  with  great  indignation  refused  to  grant  it.  As  to  the  more 
recent  practice  of  naming  the  officers  provided  for  in  the  salary  bills,  it 
not  only  justified  it,  but  intimated  that  if  this  course  had  been  adopted  at 
an  earlier  day,  his  Excellency  would  not  have  been  able  to  remove  the 
third  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  "  without  any  color  of  misconduct" 
on  his  part — who  was  "  a  gentleman  of  learning  and  experience  in  the 
law.*"  The  result  can  readily  be  seen.  After  continual  bickerings  for 
several  weeks,  Mr.  Clinton,  in  great  wrath,  prorogued  the  Assembly. 

Thus  the  parties  separated,  and  thus  again  commenced  that  great 
struggle  between  the  Republican  and  Monarchal  principle,  which  in  the 
onward  progress  of  the  former  was  destined  at  a  day  not  even  then  far 
distant,  to  work  such  mighty  results  in  the  Western  Hemisphere. 

Although,  from  a  very  early  date  in  the  history  of  this  protracted 
controversy,  it  became  inexcusably'  personal,  yet  it  is  not  difficult  to  per- 
ceive that  it  was  in  reality  one  of  principle.  On  the  one  hand,  the  infant 
Hercules,  though  still  in  his  cradle,  was  becoming  impatient  of  restraint. 
The  yoke  of  colonial  servitude  chafed  the  necks,  if  not  of  the  people,  at 
least  of  their  representatives.  The  royal  Governor  was  not  slow  to  per- 
ceive what  kind  of  leaven  was  fermenting  the  body-politic ;  and  hence  he 
became  perhaps  over-jealous  in  asserting  and  defending  the  prerogatives 
of  his  master.  Doubtless,  in  the  progress  of  the  quarrel,  there  were 
faults  on  both  sides.  Of  an  irascible  and  overbearing  temperament,  and 
accustomed  in  his  profession  to  command  rather  than  to  persuade,  he  was 
ill-qualified  to  exercise  a  limited  or  concurrent  power  with  a  popular 

*Alluding  to  the  removal,  the  year  before,  of  Justice  Horsmanden.  This  act 
■was  again  imputed  to  the  influence  of  "  a  person  of  a  mean  and  despicable  charac- 
ter"— meaning,  as  it  was  well  understood,  Dr.  Golden. 


100 

Assembly  equally  jealous  of  its  own  privileges  and  of  the  liberties  of  the 
people ;  watching  with  sleepless  vigilance  for  every  opportunity  to 
circumscribe  the  influence  of  the  Crown ;  and  ready  at  every  moment  to 
resist  the  encroachments  of  arbitrary  power.  Still,  however  patriotic  the 
motives,  under  the  promptings  of  De  Lancey,  their  opposition  to  Mr. 
Clinton  became  factious ;  and  it  is  not  difficult  even  for  a  republican  to 
believe  that  he  was  treated,  not  only  with  harshness,  but  with  great 
injustice,  especially  in  regard  to  his  measures,  and  his  personal  exertions 
for  the  pubHc  defense  and  the  prosecution  of  the  Indian  war. 

At  length,  worn  out  in  health  and  spirits  by  his  struggle  against  a 
powerful  opposition,  CHnton,  in  1753,  sent  in  his  resignation  to  the  home 
government,  and  Sir  James  Osborne  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 

The  character  of  IVIr.  Clinton  has  not,  I  think,  been  fairly  drawn. 
Those  upon  whose  opinions  his  character  rests,  were  persons  living  at 
the  same  day,  and  who,  influenced  by  party  strife,  were  not  in  a  position 
to  judge  impartially.  He  was  an  uncouth  and  unlettered  Admiral,  who 
had  been,  through  the  Newcastle  interest,  appointed  to  the  chair  of  Gov- 
ernor. He  was  evidently  unsuited  to  his  position  ;  and  his  former  pro- 
fession, in  which  he  had  always  been  accustomed  to  command,  illy  fitted 
liim  to  brave  the  rebufl's  and  the  opposition  of  party  faction.  His 
manner,  too,  was  not  such  as  to  win  friends.  Having  to  depend  entirely 
upon  the  advice  of  those  around  him,  he  was  often  the  dupe  of  those 
better  versed  in  the  arts  of  diplomacy  than  himself.  But  I  look  in  vain 
for  that  love  of  ease,  to  the  neglect  of  his  official  duties,  of  which  he  is 
accused  by  his  enemies.  On  the  contrary,  although  he  relied  too  much 
on  the  advice  of  others  for  his  own  good,  yet  it  was  caused  more  by  a 
consciousness  of  a  lack  of  education,  than  by  a  desire  to  shirk  action. 
In  the  care  of  the  Indians  he  was  indefatigable,  as  appears  by  his  large 
correspondence  with  Colonel,  afterwards  Sir  Wm.  Johnson,  and  the  offi- 
cers of  the  diff'erent  frontier  posts.  He  labored  incessantly  with  his 
Assembly  to  make  them  realize  the  condition  of  the  colony;  and  had 
they  met  his  views  half-way,  or  even  manifested  a  tithe  of  his  energy, 
the  Province  of  New  York  would  not  have  presented  such  an  inviting 
field  for  the  encroachments  of  the  French.  He  is  accused  of  amassing 
by  unfair  means  a  large  fortune  while  Governor,  yet  he  freely  advanced 
out  of  his  private  purse  large  sums  for  the  exigencies  of  the  Indian 
affairs,  and  many  times  saved  the  Six  Nations  from  defection,  and  the 
province  from  the  horrors  of  a  predatory  warfare,  when  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  rouse  the  Assembly  to  a  sense  of  danger.  Indeed,  I  think  it  may 
safely  bo  said,  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  untiring  efi'orts  of  Mr.  Clinton 
and  Colonel  Johnson,  the  Six  Nations  would  have  been  completely  won 
over  by  the  French,  and  the  fire-brand  and  tomahawk  carried  down  to 
the  very  gates  of  New  York. 

Meanwhile,  several  public  edifices  had  been  erected,  and  various 


101 

improvements  taken  place  in  the  city.  In  1747,  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Wall  street,  which  had  been  erected  by  Hunter,  was  rebuilt.  *'In 
the  course  of  the  next  two  years,  Beekman  and  the  contiguous  streets 
were  regulated.  Ferry  street  was  ceded  to  the  city ;  Beekman,  Dey,  and 
Thames  streets  were  paved ;  Pearl  street  was  dug  down  near  Peck  Slip, 
and  graded  from  Franklin  Square  to  Chatham  street ;  and  John  street  was 
paved  and  regulated.  In  1751,  a  Moravian  Chapel  was  built  in  Fulton 
street ;  the  following  year,  the  first  Merchants'  Exchange  was  erected  at 
the  foot  of  Broad  street ;  and  St.  George's  Chapel  was  built  by  Trinity 
Church  on  the  corner  of  Clitf  and  Beekman,  and  was  consecrated  on  the 
1st  of  July  by  the  Pev.  Mr.  Barclay,  a  former  missionary  among  the 
Mohawks,  but  now  the  rector  of  Trinity  Church.  This  building  yet 
remains  in  good  preservation,  and  is  well  known  as  one  of  the  few  original 
landmarks.  This  is,  next  to  the  Post-Oifice,  the  oldest  church  edifice 
now  standing  in  the  city,  and  its  quaint  old  chandeliers,  and  aisles  fiagged 
with  gray  stone,  still  remain  as  relics  of  days  of  yore."  AVashington,  it 
is  said,  was  a  frequent  attendant  of  this  church  during  his  residence  in 
this  city  in  the  early  part  of  the  Eevolutionary  War.*  But  alas !  this 
old  landmark  is  about  to  share  the  fate  of  so  many  other  structures  of  a 
similar  character,  and  is  to  be  torn  down  to  make  room  for  another  altar 
to  the  god  Mammon.  Workmen  are,  as  we  write,  employed  in  removing 
the  wood-work  and  other  articles  of  furniture,  preparatory  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  church.  It  is  said  that  the  owners  of  the  vaults  underneath 
the  sacri'sty  are  about  to  contest  the  right  of  the  recent  sale  in  the  courts  ; 
but  their  efforts  will  probably  have  little  effect  in  saving  the  doomed 
building  from  the  grasp  of  sacrilegious  hands.  In  speaking  of  the 
history  of  this  edifice,  a  writer  in  the  New  York  JForld,  of  March  17th, 
1868,  recalls  the  following  interesting  facts  : 

*'  One  hundred  and  twenty  years  ag-o,  New  York  City  had  not  attained  its 
majority,  and  Broadway  was  but  a  cow-path  above  Canal  street.  The  Right  Honor- 
able G-eorgre  Clinton,  '  Captain-G-eneral  and  G-overnor-in-Chief  in  and  over  the 
Province  of  New  York  and  the  Territories  thereon,  Depending  in  America,  Vice- 
Admiral  of  the  Same,  and  Vice- Admiral  of  the  Red  Squadron  of  His  Majesty's 
Fleet,'  as  that  'most  doughty  and  right  honorable  personage  was  wont  to  sign  himself 
in  proclamations  to  the  fat  burghers  of  New  York,  sat  in  the  chair  now  filled  by 
Reuben  E.  Teuton.  In  that  day,  New  York  City  was  a  nest  for  privateers,  which 
sailed  hence  to  destroy  French  and  Spanish  commerce.  According  as  their  destina- 
tion might  be,  these  vessels,  with  a  fair  quantity  of  rum,  molasses,  and  sea-provisions, 
would  be  piloted  to  the  Hook,  and  there  take  on  board  an  India,  Mediterranean,  or 

*  Another  important  event  occurred  at  this  time,  which  should  not  be  omitted 
by  one  who  attempts  to  give  a  history  of  the  city — inasmuch  as  it  gives  us  the 
origin  of  the  yearly  appropriation  made  by  the  Common  Council  for  the  Cit//  Mnmial, 
viz. :  that  in  1747  the  Common  Council  appropriated /cvr  2>ounds  for  the  publication 
of  fifty  copies  oi  An  Essay  on  the  Duties  of  Vestrymen!  Some  ill-natured  cynic 
may  here  suggest  that  it  would  have  been  better  if  the  Common  Council  had  con- 
fined  themselves  to  publications  of  a  similar  kind. 


102 

other  pilot,  to  carry  them  to  their  destination.  Small  negro  boys  and  Jamaica  men 
in  parcels  were  sold  at  auction  where  now  the  Custom-House  rears  its  lofty  pillars. 
Maria  Theresa,  Empress  of  Austria  and  Queen  of  Bohemia  and  Hungaria,  wielded 
the  scepter  of  the  Caesars ;  George  the  Second,  Fides  Defensor,  twiddled  his  thumbs, 
in  Windsor  Park  and  played  bowls  with  his  Hanoverian  mistresses ;  and  wheat  was 
six  shillings  a  bushel ;  flour,  eighteen  shillings  a  hundred ;  beef,  forty  shilllings  a 
barrel ;  West  India  rum,  three  and  eight  pence  a  gallon ;  salt,  three  shillings  a 
bushel ;  and  single-refined  sugar,  one  and  '  tuppence  '  a  pound  in  New  York  City. 
Manus  Carroll  had  been  hung  at  the  old  powder-house,  which  still  stands  on  an 
eminence  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Central  Park,  for  a  cruel  and  most  '  un-Christian'- 
like  murder  which  he  had  committed  two  years  before  in  Albany,  then  a  thriving 
town.  Counterfeiters  were  at  that  time  amenable  to  the  death-penalty,  and  the 
Barnum  of  that  day  exhibited  wax -figures  in  Dock  street,  and  the  editor  of  the  New 
York  Weekly  Post  Boy  was  in  the  habit  of  receiving  presents  of  baskets  of  Bermuda 
potatoes  from  the  masters  of  vessels  bound  into  the  goodly  port  of  New  York.  One 
day  the  editor  received  a  potato  weighing  seven  pounds  from  the  master  of  the  Good 
Delight,  from  Plumb  Island,  in  the  far-off  '  Bermoothes,'  and,  out  of  sheer  joy  at  the 
prodigy,  he  went  and  made  himself  drunk  on  '  arrack-punch,'  the  most  aristocratic 
tipple  of  our  forefathers'  days.  The  City  and  County  of  New  York  had  at  that  early 
day  a  population  of  twelve  thousand,  two  thousand  of  which  number  were  negroes- 
"  On  the  15th  of  April,  1748,  a  number  of  gentlemen  met  in  the  vestry  of  King's 
Chapel  or  Trinity  Church,  then  situated  where  the  present  church  stands  in  the  Broad- 
way, but  at  the  time  referred  to,  overhanging  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  whose 
limits  have  since  been  pushed  back  a  quarter  of  a  mile  by  the  contractors  and  dust- 
collectors  ;  and  these  gentlemen  being  of  the  opinion,  after  a  deliberate  consultation, 
that  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  chapel  of  ease  connected  with  Trinity,  it  was  then 
and  there  ordained  that  the  Church- Wardens,  Colonel  Moore,  Mr.  Watts,  Mr.  Living- 
ston, Mr.  Chambers,  Mr.  Horsmanden,  Mr.  Reade,  and  Mr.  Lodge,  be  appointed  a 
committee  to  select  a  place  for  the  erection  *  of  ye '  Chapel  of  St.  George's.  Another 
meeting  was  held  on  the  4th  of  July,  1748.  Colonel  Robinson,  one  of  the  committee, 
reported  that  he  had  agreed  with  a  Mr.  Clarkson  for  a  number  of  lots,  for  which 
that  person  had  asked  the  sum  of  £500,  to  be  paid  in  a  year,  and  several  persons  in 
Montgomerie  Ward  had  stated  to  him  that  the  lots  of  Colonel  Beekman,  fronting 
Beekman  and  Van  Cliff  streets,  would  be  more  commodious  for  building  the  said 
chapel,  and  proposed  that  if  the  vestry  would  agree  to  the  building  of  the  chapel  on 
Colonel  Beekman's  property,  the  inhabitants  of  Montgomerie  Ward  would  raise 
money  among  themselves  to  purchase  the  ground,  and  that  if  Mr.  Clarkson  insisted 
on  the  performance  of  the  agreement  with  him  for  his  lots,  they  would  take  a  con- 
veyance for  them,  and  pay  the  purchase-money ;  which  was  agreed  tb  after  many 
hot  words.  For  these  respectable  vestrymen,  in  a  manner  like  all  vestrymen  from 
time  immemorial,  had  tempers  of  their  own,  and  no  doubt  they  were  exercised  at. 
the  fact  that  the  doughty  Robinson  had  taken  upon  himself  to  make  an  agreement 
to  purchase  lots  for  £500,  a  very  large  sum  in  those  days  when  the  gold-board  had 
not  been  established,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  inhabitants  of  Mor.tgomerie  Ward, 
which  was  afterward  called  the  'Swamp'  in  the  memory  of  man,  were,  without  whip 
or  spur,  eager  for  the  honor  and  glory  o^  the  future,  to  furnish  the  lots  and  build  upon 
them  a  church.  Well,  the  vestrymen  went  home  and  drank  more  arrack-punch, 
sweetened  with  Muscovado  sugar,  and  punished  '  oelykoeks,'  greasy  with  oil  tmd  other 
substances,  and  then  returned  to  the  bosoms  of  tlicir  respective  families.  Donation* 
poured  in  to  the  committee,  and  the  first  subscription,  of  £100,  was  made  by  Sir 
Peter  Warren,  who  desired,  if  not  inconsistent  Avith  the  rules  of  the  church,  that 
they  would  reserve  a  pew  for  himself  and  family  in  perpetuity.     The  Archbishop  of 


103 

Canterbury  contributed  ten  pounds.  This,  the  second  building  in  the  city  erected 
for  the  purpose  of  worship  being  completed,  notice  was  given  to  the  Governor,  and 
the  installation  services  were  held  on  the  1st  day  of  July,  A.  D.,  1752  ;  but  there 
being  no  bishop  in  the  country  at  the  time,  it  was  consecrated  agreeably  to  the 
ancient  usages  of  the  church.  The  Rev.  Henry  Barclay,  D.  D.,  at  this  time,  was 
the  rector,  and  Rev.  Samuel  Auchmuty,  T>.  D.,  assistant  minister  of  Trinity  Church. 
Being  finished  in  the  finest  style  of  architecture  of  the  period,  and  having  a  hand- 
some and  lofty  steeple,  this  edifice  was  justly  deemed  a  great  ornament  to  the  city. 
It  first  stood  alone,  there  being  but  few  other  houses  in  its  vicinity.  Shortly  sub- 
sequent, however,  the  streets  were  graded  and  built  upon,  and  now  the  immense 
warehouses  of  enterprising  merchants  and  handsome  private  residences  surround  it 
on  every  side.  When  first  constructed,  the  interior  arrangement  of  St.  George's  dif- 
fered considerably  from  the  present,  the  chancel,  at  that  time,  being  contained  in  the 
circular  recess  at  the  rear  of  the  church,  and  the  altar  standing  back  against  the 
rear-wall  In  full  vIcav  of  the  middle-aisle.  There  was  also  some  difference  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  desk,  pulpit,  and  clerk's-desk.  An  interesting  relation  Is  told 
concerning  the  material  of  which  this  part  of  the  church-furniture  was  made,  and  It 
may  be  thus  condensed  :  In  one  of  the  voyages  made  by  a  sea-captain,  whose  vessel 
was  unfortunately  wrecked,  he  sustained,  among  other  Injuries,  the  loss  of  the 
vessel's  masts.  This  disaster  occurring  on  a  coast  where  no  other  wood  than 
mahogany  could  be  procured,  the  captain  was  obliged  to  remedy  the  loss  by  replac- 
ing the  old  masts  with  masts  made  of  mahogany.  This  ship,  thus  repaired,  returned 
to  this  port  about  the  time  St.  George's  was  building,  when  more  suitable  masts 
were  substituted,  and  those  made  of  mahogany  were  donated  to  the  Church.  The 
pulpit,  desk,  and  chancel-ralls  were  removed  some  years  afterward,  and  It  may  be 
interesting  to  state  that  they  can  now  be  seen  answering  a  like  capacity  In  Christ 
Church,  .In  the  little  town  of  Manhasset,  on  Long  Island. 

"  There  is  an  incident  connected  with  the  beautiful  font  of  this  church,  which 
■win  also  bear  repetition.  Originally  Intended  for  a  Catholic  church  in  South 
America,  it  was  shipped  on  a  French  vessel  to  be  carried  to  Its  destination ;  but 
whilst  on  the  voyage  it  was  captured  by  the  English  during  the  old  French  war  and 
brought  to  this  city.  This  font  Is  made  of  white  marble,  and  Is  a  masterly  piece  of 
workmanship.  In  1814,  when  St.  George's  was  burned,  this  font  was  supposed  to 
have  been  destroyed,  but  It  was  found  about  thirty  years  ago  in  a  remote  part  of 
the  church,  where  it  had  been  removed  during  the  conflagration.  It  was  somewhat 
damaged,  but  not  enough,  however,  to  prevent  Its  further  use,  and  after  being 
cleaned  and  repaired  i^  was  replaced  In  front  of  the  chancel,  where  It  now  stands,  an 
interesting  feature  of  the  time-honored  building. 

"  One  of  the  melancholy  events  associated  with  this  old  church  was  the  sudden 
death  of  the  Rev.  John  Ogllvle.  On  the  18th  of  November,  1774,  whilst  delivering 
one  of  the  lectures  he  was  in  the  habit  of  holding  on  Friday  evenings,  he  was 
struck  with  apoplexy.  He  had  given  out  his  text:  'To  show  that  jthe  Lord  Is 
upright :  he  Is  my  rock,  and  there  Is  no  unrighteousness  In  him.' — Psalms,  xcll.,  15  ; 
and  after  repeating  a  sentence  or  two  he  sank  into  the  reading-desk,  and  was 
deprived  of  speech.  He  suffered  thus  for  eight  days,  when  he  was  relieved  by 
death.  It  was  In  this  chapel.  In  July,  1787,  that  the  Right  Rev.  Samuel  Provost, 
the  first  bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York,  held  his  first  ordination,  at  which  time 
the  late  Right  Rev.  Richard  C.  Moore,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Virginia,  and  the  Rev. 
Joseph  G.  I.  Bend,  of  Baltimore,  were  made  Deacons.  In  the  year  1811,  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  a  separation  between  the  congregation  of  St.  George's  and  the 
corporation  of  Trinity  Church,  after  which  the  latter  became  duly  organized  as  a 
separate  parish,  known  as  St.  George's  Church. 


104 

"  The  following  persons  composed  the  first  vestry:  Church-Wardens — Grerrit  Van 
Wagenen  and  Henry  Peters.  Vestrymen — Francis  Dominick,  Isaac  Lawrence, 
Isaac  Carow,  Robert  Wardell,  Cornelius  Schemmerhorn,  John  Onderdonk,  Edward 
W.  Laight,  and  William  G-reen.  After  St.  George's  became  a  separate  parish,  its 
first  minister  was  the  Rev.  John  Brady,  who  afterward  became  an  assistant  under 
the  Rev.  John  Kewly.  St.  George's  was  entirely  consumed  by  fire  in  the  month  of 
January,  1814,  nothing  being  saved  but  the  bare  walls.  After  a  proper  examination, 
these  walls  were  decided  to  be  safe  enough  to  bear  another  roof,  and  when  this  was 
put  on  the  whole  interior  of  the  building  was  renewed.  The  interior  of  the  church 
is  much  more  handsomely  finished  than  the  exterior,  the  carved  capitals  of  the 
Corinthian  order  presenting  a  fine  specimen  of  architectural  beauty.  The  ground- 
floor  is  divided  into  three  aisles,  and  on  either  side  a  commodious  gallery  is  sup- 
ported by  massive  columns.  At  the  west  end,  and  connecting  these  two,  there  is 
another  gallery,  in  the  middle  of  which  is  located  a  handsome  mahogany  organ. 
Above  this  end  gallery  there  are  two  smaller  ones,  which  are  used  by  the  Sunday- 
school  pupils.  From  the  center  of  the  ceiling  three  large  magnificent  glass  chande- 
liers depend,  and  these  are  among  the  few  articles  that  were  saved  from  the  fire. 
Over  the  side  galleries  three  smaller,  but  very  beautiful  chandeliers  are  hung  above 
the  arches.  When  St.  George's  was  completed  a  second  time,  it  was  placed  by  the 
vestry  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Milnor,  who  continued  to  fill  the 
rectorship  until  the  8th  of  April,  1845,  when  he  died.  This  venerable  minister  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  his  parish,  and  his  death  was  sincerely  lamented.  He  had 
been  a  lawyer  in  Philadelphia  in  early  life,  and  for  several  terms  represented  that 
city  in  Congress.  In  1813,  he  abandoned  secular  pursuits,  and  was  admitted  to 
priests'  and  deacons'  orders  by  Bishop  White. 

"  One  hundred  years  after  the  consecration  of  St.  George's,  a  grand  centenary 
celebration  was  held  in  the  church,  and  hundreds  of  worshippers  knelt  in  the  shadow 
of  the  pulpit  from  which  George  Washington  had  often  heard  the  sacred  text  read 
and  expounded.  Dr.  Tyng  held  the  rectorship  until  the  new  edifice  in  Sixteenth 
street  was  finished,  when  the  communion  service  was  removed  to  the  new  church, 
and  a  number  of  old  relics  carried  away.  Now  the  venerable  pile  is  being  gutted 
from  organ-loft  to  altar,  and  the  hungry  doors  stand  open  that  all  may  see  the 
nakedness  of  the  edifice.  The  old  gray  flag-stones,  worn  by  the  feet  of  Schuylers, 
Livingstons,  Reades,  Van  Cliffs,  Beekmans,  Van  Rensselaers,  Cortlandts,  Moores, 
and  others,  well  known  and  respected  in  the  infancy  of  the  metropolis,  are  to  be 
torn  up  and  converted  into  lime,  the  pulpit  will  go  to  a  junk-shop,  and  the  rest  of 
the  furniture  to  the  wood-yard.  At  present  the  graves  of^evolutionary  heroes 
serve  as  a  depository  for  ashes  and  rubbish,  and  vessels  are  emptied  daily  from  the 
windows  adjoining  on  places  where,  a  hundred  years  ago,  was,  carved  the  sacred 
words  never  to  be  effaced,  '^Eequiescat  in  pace.''^  The  old  church  has  to  be  torn  down, 
and  the  six  lots  will  be  sold  to  the  highest  purchasers.  The  church  was  the  oldest 
in  the  city  but  one,  the  building  occupied  as  a  post-office  having  been  the  first 
building  erected  as  a  place  of  worship.  The  property  purchased  from  Colonel  Beek- 
man  for  £500  is  now  worth,  it  is  said,  half  a  million  of  dollars." 

Mr.  Clinton  was  at  liis  country  seat  at  Flushing,  L.  I.,  when  his 
successor,  Sir  James  Osborne,  arrived.  This  was  on  Sunday,  the  7th  of 
October,  1753.  The  Council,  Mayor,  Corporation,  and  the  chief  citizens 
met  the  new  Governor  on  his  arrival,  and  escorted  him  to  the  Council- 
Chamber.  The  following  day  Mr.  Clinton  called  upon  him,  and  they 
both  dined  with  the  members  of  the  Council.  On  Wednesday  morning 
Mr.  Clinton  administered  to  him  the  oath  of  office,  and  delivered  to  him 


105 

the  seals  ;  at  the  same  time  delivering  to  James  Be  Lancey  his  commis- 
sion as  Lieutenant-Governor.  As  soon  as  these  forms  were  finished, 
Governor  Osborne,  attended  by  the  Council  and  Mr.  Clinton,  set  out  for 
the  Town-Hall,  where  the  new  commission  was  usually  read  to  the  people. 
Scarcely,  however,  had  the  procession  advanced  a  few  steps,  when  the 
rabble,  incited,  it  is  said,  by  the  De  Lancey  faction,  insulted  Mr.  Clinton 
so  grossly  as  to  compel  him  to  leave  the  party,  and  retire  into  the  fort. 
In  the  evening  cannon  were  fired,  bonfires  lighted,  fireworks  displayed, 
and  the  whole  city  was  given  up  to  a  delirium  of  joy.  Amid  all  these 
rejoicings,  the  new  Governor  sat  in  his  room  gloomy  and  sad ;  and,  seem- 
ingly averse  to  conversation,  retired  early.  On  Thursday  morning  he 
informed  the  Council  that  his  strict  orders  were  to  insist  upon  an  indefinite 
support  for  the  Government,  and  desired  to  have  the  opinion  of  the  Board 
upon  the  probabilities  of  its  success.  It  was  universally  agreed  by  the 
members  present  that  the  Assembly  never  would  submit  to  this  demand, 
and  that  a  permanent  support  could  not  be  enforced.  Turning  to  Mr. 
Smith,  who  had  hitherto  remained  silent,  he  requested  his  opinion,  which 
being  to  the  same  effect  as  that  just  expressed,  Mr.  Osborne  sighed,  and, 
leaning  against  the  window,  with  his  face  partially  concealed,  exclaimed, 
in  great  mental  distress  :  "  Then  what  am  I  sent  here  for  !"  That  same 
evening  he  was  so  unwell  that  a  physician  was  summoned,  with  whom 
he  conversed  for  a  little  time,  and  then  retired  to  his  chamber,  where  he 
spent  the  most  of  the  night  in  arranging  his  private  affairs.  In  the 
morning  he  was  found  suspended  from  the  top  of  the  garden-fence,  dead.* 
Sir  Danvers  Osborne  had  lost  a  wife  to  whom  he  was  passionately 
attached,  shortly  before  coming  to  New  York.  This  acting  upon  'a  mind 
morbidly  sensitive,  had  thrown  him  into  a  melancholy,  bordering  upon 
insanity.  He  came  to  the  government  charged  with  instructions  much 
more  stringent  in  their  tone  than  those  given  to  his  predecessor ;  and 
knowing  the  difficulty  which  Mr.  Clinton  experienced  during  his  admin- 
istration, he  saw  before  him  only  a  succession  of  storms  and  tempests. 
Almost  the  first  words  of  the  City  Corporation  in  their  address  to  him  in 
the  Town-Hall—"  that  they  would  not  brook  any  infringement  of  their  lib- 
erties, civil  and  religious" — convinced  Mr.  Osborne  of  the  utter  impos- 
sibility of  the  task  assigned  to  him.  All  these  causes  working  upon  a 
morbid  state  of  mind — wishing  to  carry  out  his  instructions  on  the  one 
hand,  yet  seeing  its  utter  hopelessness  on  the  other — produced  a  tempo- 
rary insanity,  in  Avhich  state  he  committed  the  rash  act.  Party  rage,  it 
is  true,  threw  out  suspicions  of  unfair  play ;  and  the  Council  even  thought 
it  worth  while  to  appoint  a  committee  to  investigate  more  fully  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  death;  but  these  suspicions,  it  was  made  clearly 
evident,  were  entirely  without  foundation. 

*  Manuscript  affidavits  of  Philip  Crosby  and  John  Milligan  before  the  Council. 
Sworn  to,  October  12,  1753,  and  now  preserved  in  the  Secretary  of  State's  Office, 
Albany,  N.  Y. 


106 

Immediately  on  the  death  of  Governor  Osborne,  Mr.  De  Lancey,  by 
virtue  of  bis  commission  as  Lieutenant-Governor,  assumed  the  reins  of  gov- 
ernment. The  role  which  he  was  henceforth  to  play,  though  difficult,  was 
acted  with  his  usual  shrewdness  and  address.  He  had  now  to  con\ince 
the  Ministry  that  he  was  zealous  in  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  the 
Crown  ;  while  at  the  same  time,  if  he  would  retain  his  own  popularity, 
he  must  show  the  Assembly  that  he  was  true  to  his  former  principles, 
and  by  no  means  required  a  compliance  with  the  instructions,  which,  on 
the  part  of  his  Majesty,  he  should  present  to  them.  "  As  his  Majesty's 
representative,  he  was  obliged  to  urge  their  comphance  with  seeming 
sincerity  and  warmth ;  but  as  James  De  Lancey,  their  old  friend  and 
best  adviser,  it  was  his  real  sentiment  that  they  never  ought  to  submit." 
The  change  in  the  administration,  however,  was  productive  of  one  good 
result — that  of  infusing  into  the  Assembly  a  desire  to  take  active 
measures  for  the  defense  of  the  province,  now  threatened  with  a  desolat- 
ing Indian  war!  Before  the  close  of  the  session,  an  elaborate  complaint 
to  the  Crown,  and  a  representation  to  the  Board  of  Trade  against  Mr. 
Clinton  were  drawn  up,  and  forwarded  through  Mr.  De  Lancey  to  the 
home  government.  The  Assembly  was  then  prorogued  to  the  first  Tues- 
day of  the  following  March — the  Lieutenant-Governor  tenderly  remark- 
ing before  they  parted,  that  they  "must  be  sensible  they  had  not  acted 
with  his  Majesty's  royal  instructions." 

In  the  General  Assembly  which  met  on  the  15th  of  October,  1754, 
was  first  manifested  the  want  of  that  harmony  which  had  hitherto  been 
so  flattering  to  Mr.  De  Lancey' s  administration.  The  reluctance  of  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  at  the  congress  to  accede  to  the  plan  of  union,  first 
awakened  suspicion  in  the  public  mind  that  his  sympathies  were  on  the 
side  of  the  Crown,  and  that  the  affection  which  he  professed  for  the  people 
was  only  a  cover  to  his  own  ambition.  There  were  also  a  few  of  Mr. 
CHnton's  friends  left,  around  whom  were  gathered  a  small  opposition ; 
and  the  partiality  which  Mr.  De  Lancey  had  shown  to  his  partisans  since 
coming  into  power,  disgusted  others  and  added  to  the  discontent  which 
was  now  quite  general.  To  this  was  added  another  source  of  dissatisfac- 
tion, viz.  :  the  course  he  had  taken  in  the  founding  of  the  college.  To 
understand  this  latter  point  more  clearly,  it  is  necessary  to  glance  at  the 
origin  of  the  controversy  which  was  now  raging  fiercely,  and  which  had 
already  divided  the  Assembly  into  two  parties. 

The  province  of  New  York  at  this  period  was  divided  in  its  religious 
views  into  two  sects — the  Episcopalian  and  the  Presbyterian — the  former 
being  led  by  James  De  Lancey,  and  the  latter  by  William  Livingston. 
The  Presbyterians,  though  outnumbering  ten  to  one  the  Episcopalians, 
had  not  fairly  recovered  from  the  oppressions  of  the  early  Governors, 
Fletcher  and  Cornbury ;  and  they  would  probably  have  remained  quiet^ 
had  not  the  Episcopalians,  with  great  lack  of  judgment,  stirred  up  anew 
the  embers  of  controversy. 


107 

The  people  of  New  York,  awakened  to  the  importance  of  stimulating 
education,  raised,  by  successive  lotteries,  the  sum  of  three  thousand 
four  hundred  and  forty-three  pounds  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  col- 
lege ;  and  in  the  fall  of  1751  passed  an  act  for  placing  the  money  thus 
raised  in  the  hands  of  ten  trustees.  Of  these,  seven  were  Episcopalians, 
two  belonged  to  the  Dutch  church,  and  the  tenth  was  William  Living- 
ston, an  English  Presbyterian.  This  manifest  inequality  in  favor  of  the 
Church  of  England,  at  once  raised  a  well-founded  alarm  in  the  minds  of 
the  other  sects,  who  very  justly  perceived  in  this  an  attempt  to  make  the 
college  entirely  sectarian,  by  which  only  those  in  the  Episcopal  church 
could  participate  in  its  benefits.  Nor  were  they  left  long  in  suspense^ 
for  it  soon  became  well  understood  that  the  majority  of  the  trustees 
were  to  have  the  college  under  their  control,  and  were  intending  shortly 
to  petition  the  Lieutenant-Governor  for  a  charter,  in  which  it  was  to  be 
expressly  stipulated  that  no  person  out  of  the  communion  of  the  English 
church  should  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  president.  Far-seeing  men 
uttered  gloomy  forebodings  ;  and  a  belief  soon  diffused  itself  through  the 
minds  of  intelligent  dissenters,  that  this  was  only  the  foreshadowing  of 
an  attempt  to  introduce  into  the  colony  an  estabhshed  church. 

This  idea  was  to  a  majority  of  the  colonists  repugnant  in  the  extreme. 
The  union  of  church  and  state,  with  its  tithes  and  taxes,  was,  like  the 
"  skeleton  in  armor,"  ever  present  to  their  imaginations,  stimulating  them 
to  the  utmost  resistance.  Mr.  Livingston,  therefore,  partially  with  a  view 
to  expose  the  evils  of  a  college  founded  upon  such  sectarian  principles, 
established  a  paper  called  the  Independent  Reflector.  The  articles  which 
successively  appeared  from  his  pen  on  this  subject  were  able  and  pungent. 
Under  his  lash  the  leaders  of  the  church-party  winced ;  and,  in  their 
agony,  charged  him  with  the  design  of  breaking  up  the  plan  of  any  col- 
lege whatever,  and  dreaded  lest  he  should  obtain  a  charter  "  for  constitut- 
ing a  college  on  a  basis  the  most  catholic,  generous,  and  free."  These 
attacks  of  the  church-party  were  returned  with  redoubled  violence,  and 
the  controversy  had  now  risen  to  fever-heat. 

But  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Li\dngston  and  other  able  writers  to  prevent 
the  incorporation  of  King's  (Columbia)  College  under  these  principles 
were  fruitless  ;  and  Mr.  De  Lancey  accordingly  granted  the  charter.  Eev. 
Samuel  Johnson,  from  Stratford,  a  worthy  man,  was  called  to  the  presi- 
dent's chair,  and  Mr.  Livingston  was  appointed  one  of  the  governors,  in 
the  hope  of  silencing  his  opposition. 

The  granting  of  this  charter  was  so  displeasing  to  the  majority  of  the 
people,  that  the  Lieutenant-Governor  thought  it  advisable,  in  order  to  win 
back  their  former  confidence,  to  urge  at  the  present  session  the  passage 
of  several  popular  acts.  Among  them  was  one  for  suppljing  the  garri- 
son at  Albany  and  the  fortifications  along  the  frontiers,  and  another  for 
the  discharge  of  the  •  claims  of  the  pubhc  creditors,  especially  the  one  of 
Colonel,  afterward  Sir  William  Johnson. 


108 

The  granting  of  a  charter  to  the  new  college,  however,  had  not  utterly 
crushed  out  opposition  to  its  obnoxious  principles.  The  House  still  had 
the  disposal  of  the  money  which  had  been  raised ;  and  the  sectarians 
having  a  majority,  the  trustees  were  ordered  to  report  their  transactions 
by  virtue  of  the  act  under  which  they  had  been  appointed.  The  latter 
accordingly  on  the  first  of  November  handed  in  two  separate  reports, 
Wm.  Livingston  reading  one,  and  James  Livingston  and  Mr.  Nichol  the 
other.  After  the  two  reports  had  been  considered,  'the  House  unani- 
mously resolved  "that  it  would  not  consent  to  any  disposition  of  the 
moneys  raised  by  lottery  for  erecting  a  college  within  this  colony  in  any 
other  manner  than  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  hereafter  passed  for  that 
purpose."  Permission  at  the  same  time  was  given  Mr.  Robert  Livingston 
to  bring  in  a  bill  for  incorporating  a  college,  which  he  introduced  that 
same  afternoon. 

The  introduction  of  this  bill  astonished  both  Houses.  It  was  vain  to 
suppose  that  the  Council  would  give  its  assent  to  an  act  so  distasteful  to 
its  religious  prejudices;  nor  was  the  Lieutenant-Governor  likely  to 
directly  contradict  the  letters-patent  which,  on  behalf  of  the  Crown,  he 
himself  had  granted  ;  while  the  Assembly,  composed  chiefly  of  dissenters, 
dared  not  reject  it.  In  this  predicament,  a  motion  was  made  by  Mr. 
Walton — prefaced  with  the  remark  ''  that  the  subject  was  of  the  utmost 
consequence  to  the  people  they  represented,  with  the  respect  both  to 
their  civil  and  religious  liberties'- — that  the  consideration  of  the  bill 
be  deferred  until  the  next  session,  by  which  time  the  sentiments  of  their 
constituents  could  be  obtained.  This  motion  was  gladly  seized  upon  as 
the  only  mode  which  presented  an  honorable  retreat  from  the  position 
they  had  so  hastily  assumed,  and  was  therefore  immediately  carried. 

Thus,  with  the  close  of  the  year,  practically  terminated  the  college 
controversy,  a  controversy  which,  considered  in  itself,  was  not  perhaps  of 
much  importance ;  but  which  should  not  be  omitted  by  the  historian, 
who  would  show  the  progress  which  the  citizens  of  New  York  were 
making  toward  that  civil  and  religious  freedom  which  they  afterward 
attained. 

Sir  Charles  Hardy,  the  person  whom  the  Ministry  had  appointed  to 
succeed  Clinton,  arrived  in  New  York  in  1755.  He  was,  like  his  imme- 
diate predecessor,  an  unlettered  British  Admiral,  and  he  had  not  landed 
long  before  it  was  apparent  that,  Hke  him  also,  he  had  not  sufficient 
executive  talent  to  govern  without  a  leader.  He  therefore  soon  resigned 
himself  into  the  hands  of  De  Lancey,  who  thus  again  became  Governor. 
Sir  Charles  Hardy,  however,  soon  became  tired  of  his  inactive  life ;  and 
having,  like  a  sensible  man,  asked  and  received  permission  to  resign  the 
government  and  return  to  his  former  profession,  he  hoisted  his  flag  as 
Rear- Admiral  of  the  Blue,  and  leaving  his  government  in  the  hands  of 
the  Lieutenant-Governor,  De  Lancey,  he  sailed  on  the  2d  of  July,  1757; 
to  take  command  of  an  expedition  against  Le^visburg. 


109 

The  year  before  Ms  departure,  however,  was  signalized  by  an  out- 
rage upon  the  citizens  of  New  York,  which  was  long  treasured  up,  and 
undoubtedly  had  its  full  weight  in  the  catalogue  of  grievances  which  a 
few  years  later  was  to  precipitate  the  colony  into  revolution.  At  this 
time  the  colonists  were  engaged  in  a  bloody  war  with  the  Indians  and 
French;  and  Lord  Loudoun,  who  had  been  appointed  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Army  in  America,  arrived  in  New  York'in  December,  1756, 
with  twenty-four  hundred  men.  His  first  act  after  landing  was  to  insist 
that  his  officers  should  have  free  quarters  upon  the  city.  This,  it  will  be 
remembered,  was  in  direct  opposition  to  the  Charter  of  Liberties,  framed 
by  the  first  Assembly  under  Governor  Dongan ;  and  the  citizens,  who 
saw  in  this  an  attempt  to  burden  them  with  a  standing  army,  became 
excited,  and  warmly  pleaded  their  rights  as  Englishmen.  But  Loudoun 
was  not  to  be  moved.  Six  men  were  billeted  upon  the  brother  of  the 
Lieutenant-Governor — Oliver  De  Lancey.  The  latter  threatened,  if  they 
were  not  removed,  to  leave  the  country.  "  I  shall  be  glad  of  it,"  replied 
his  lordship,  at  the  same  time  quartering  half-a-dozen  more  upon  him, 
■  'for  then  the  troops  will  have  the  whole  house."*  The  Corporation 
insisted  that  free  quarters  were  against  the  common  law  and  the  petition 
of  rights.  *'  God  damn  my  blood!"  exclaimed  Loudoun  to  Mayor  Cruger, 
who  presented  the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  ;  "  if  you  do  not  billet  my 
officers  upon  free  quarters  this  day.  111  order  all  the  troops  in  North 
America,  under  my  command,  and  billet  them  myself  upon  this  city  1^" 
All  argument  being  thus  at  an  end,  a  subscription  was  raised  for  the 
quartering  of  the  officers ;  and  Loudoun,  having  rendered  himself  an 
object  of  detestation,  went  to  Boston  to  breathe  the  same  threats,  and  to 
talk  of  the  rigor  which  was  to  characterize  the  next  year's  campaign. 

Three  years  after  the  departure  of  Governor  Hardy,  the  City  of 
New  York  was  thrown  into  deep  mourning  by  the  death  of  its  former 
Chief-Justice  and  present  Lieutenant-Governor,  James  De  Lancey.  On 
the  30th  of  July,  1760,  he  died  very  suddenly  from  an  attack  of  asthma, 
a  malady  to  which  he  had  for  many  years  been  subject.  The  day 
previous  to  his  decease,  he  had  visited  Staten  Island,  and  dined  with 
Governor  Morris,  General  Prevost,  and  several  other  distinguished  men 
of  the  day.  Late  in  the  evening  he  crossed  the  haj,  seemingly  laboring 
under  great  depression  of  spirits,  and  drove  to  his  country-seat  in  the 

* "  Sir :  Am  just  now  informed  that  2,400  men  are  arrived  in  New  York. 
IVIy  Lord  Loudoun  set  a  billetting  them  and  sent  only  six  to  his  old  acquaintance, 
Mr.  01.  De  Lancey  ;  he  zounzed,  and  blood-and-zounzed  at  the  soldiers.  This 
was  told  my  lord  ;  he  sent  Mr.  01.  half-a-dozen  more.  He  sent  my  lord  word  if 
matters  were  to  go  so  he  would  leave  the  country.  My  lord  sent  him  word  he  would  be 
glad  of  it ;  then  the  troops  would  have  the  whole  house.  I  really  thought  this  so 
extraordinary,  I  must  communicate  it  to  you." — 31.  S.  Letter  in  tlie  author's  pos&esr 
sion.     Wm.  Colby  tor  Si  Win.  Johnson,  Jan.  15t7i,  1757. 


110 

suburbs.*     The  next  morning  lie  was  found  by  one  of  his  little  childrenf 
sitting  in  his  library  in  the  last  agonies  of  death. 

By  his  violent  political  enemies  Mr.  De  Lancey  has  been  represented 
as  a  most  unprincipled  demagogue,  while  by  his  satellites,  he  has  been 
lauded  to  the  skies  as  a  disinterested  citizen  and  patriot.  Neither  of 
these  views  is  '^correct ;  and  the  truth,  as  is  generally  the  case,  lies 
between  the  two  extremes.  Mr.  De  Lancey,  undoubtedly,  was  very 
ambitious  and  fond  of  notoriety  ;  and  his  love  of  power  and  the  emolu- 
ments of  office  often  led  him  into  the  commission  of  acts  from  which 
otherwise  he  would  have  shrunk.  While  he  has  been  praised  for  his 
^^  broad  and  popular  principles,"  and  for  his  '*  political  skill  in  success- 
fully preserving  to  the  Assembly  the  right  of  annual  appropriations,'' 
yet  he  assumed  this  position  more  from  a  determination  to  displace 
Clinton,  that  he  himself  might  rule,  than  from  any  love  for  the  people. 
His  course  in  1754,  in  relation  to  the  college  charter,  alienated  his  warm- 
est friends ;  and,  although  h  3  subsequently  bitterly  repented  of  giving 
his  sanction  to  the  act  of  incorporation,  yet  it  was  more  on  account  of 
his  loss  of  popularity  than  from  any  feeling  of  liberality.  He  was, 
however,  possessed  of  many  amiable  and  noble  qualities,  and  private 
virtues;  his  disposition  was  social  and  genial,  and  he  was  withal  a  good 
classical  scholar  and  a  profound  lawyer.  His  conduct  upon  the  bench 
was  generally  irreproachable  ;  and  his  decisions,  in  those  cases  in  which 
the  feelings  of  the  political  partisan  did  not  enter,  were  characterized  by 
fairness  and  discrimination.  His  death,  occurring  at  this  time,  was  a 
great  loss  to  the  province  ;  for  numerous  as  were  his  faults  he  was  a  man 
of  unquestioned  ability.  During  his  long  administration  he  had  made 
himself  thoroughly  conversant  with  Indian  relations;  and  since  the 
departure  of  Clinton  had  heartily  co-operated  with  Sir  William  Johnson, 
the  Indian  Superintendent,  in  all  his  efforts  in  that  department.  By  his 
death  the  political  complexion  of  the  province  underwent  a  material 
change  ;  and  Doctor  Colden,  by  virtue  of  being  President  of  the  Council, 
took  the  charge  of  the  Government  until  the  wishes  of  the  Ministry 
were  known. 

Scarcely  had  the  gloom  resulting  from  the  death  of  Mr.  De  Lancey 
been  dispelled,  when  the  city  was  again  thrown  into  excitement — this 
time,  however,  from  a  pleasurable  cause.  In  the  October  that  succeeded  the 
Lieutenant-Governor's  death.  General  Amherst,  covered  with  laurels  on 
account  of  his  conquest  of  Canada,  visited  New  York.  So  overjoyed  were 
the  citizens  at  the  successful  termination  of  the  protracted  struggle,  that  it 

*  On  the  east  side  of  the  Bowery,  a  little  above  Grand  street. 

f  The  little  child  who  discovered  him  was  the  grandfdther  oi  the  late  Bishop  De 
Lancey,  of  New  York.  Miss  Booth,  in  her  generally  accurate  and  exceedingly  valu- 
able work,  states  that  James  Do  Lancey  was  the  gi-eat  grandfather  of  the  late 
Bishop.     This,  however,  is  a  mistake.     He  was  his  grandfather. 


^'AKKER\ 


Mail  Stage, 

From  Whitefiovjn  to  Qanajoharru. 


THE  Mail  Uarvis  Whitepo-iun  e^uery 
Monday  and  1  bur  [day  s  at  tixiO  o'clock 
P.  M.  and  proceeds  to  Old  Fort  S<:huyler  the 
JamM,  ^<vetiing  ,  tiext  mot^ing  flarts  at  four 
o^chcky  and  arrivcj  at  Canujoharrie  in  the 
enjetting  :  exchanges  pajfengers  nvith  the  Al 
bany  and  Cooperjlonxin  Jlagesy  and  the  nejct 
day  returns  to  Old  Fort  SshuyUr 

Fare  for  pajjepgers,  Tnx'O  Dollars  \  ot'/yr 
pajfengers,  Four  Pence  per  J9iile  ;  i^lb.  hag- 
i'^^  gratis  ;  1 501^/.  rated  the  fame  as  a 
paffenger. 

Seats  may  be  had  by  applying  at  the  Pofi- 
Office i  Whitefloixtny  at  tht  houfe  of  the  fuh- 
criber^  OJd  Fort  jSchuyler,  or  at  Captain 
Reef'j',  Canajoharrie 

JASON  PARKER. 

Augufi,  1795.  8  J 


irHOGP.    CO 


iSORNis  pnocess 


Ill 

seemed  as  if  they  could  not  do  too  much  for  him  whom  they  regarded  in 
the  light  of  their  preserver  from  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife. 
Accordingly,  upon  the  arrival  of  Amherst  a  public  dinner  was  given  him, 
the  freedom  of  the  city  presented  in  a  gold  box,  salutes  fired,  and  the 
whole  city  illuminated.  Nor,  as  is  too  frequently  the  case  with  ovations, 
were  these  honors  undeserved  by  their  recipient,  who  was  as  modest  as 
he  was  brave. 

Meanwhile,  the  work  of  improving  the  city  rapidly  advanced.  In 
the  spring  ol  1761  new  streets  were  opened  and  paved,  among  which 
was  Partition  street,  now  Fulton.  At  the  same  time  the  first  theater  was 
opened  in  Beekman  street,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  although  the  project  was  strenuously  opposed  by  the  Assembly 
as  tending  to  vitiate  and  lower  the  standard  of  public  morals.  "During 
this  year,  also,"  says  Miss  Booth,  "  the  old  plan  of  lighting  the  streets  by 
lanterns  suspended  from  the  windows,  was  'definitely  abandoned ;  and 
public  lamps  and  lamp-posts  were  erected  in  the  principal  streets,  and 
hghted  at  the  public  expense."  LaAVs  were  also  passed  regulating  the 
prices  of  provisions,  some  of  which  the  same  author  gives  as  affording 
an  idea  of  the  prices  at  that  time.  Beef  was  sold  at  four  pence  half- 
penny j)er  pound  ;  pork,  five  pence  half-penny ;  veal,  six  pence ;  butter, 
fifteen  pence ;  milk,  six  coppers  per  quart ;  and  a  loaf  of  bread,  of  a 
pound  and  twelve  ounces,  four  coppers. 

In  June,  1764,  a  light-house  was  erected  on  Sandy  Hook  and  lighted 
for  the  first  time.  Two  ferries  were  also  established  the  same  year;  one 
between  Paulus  Hook  (Jersey  City)  and  New  York,  and  another  between 
Staten  Island  and  Bergen.  At  the  same  time  the  mail  between  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  was  changed  from  once  a  fortnight  to  twice  a 
week,  the  distance  between  the  two  cities  being  made  in  three  days. 

At  an  early  period  in  New  Y^ork  the  mails,  now  of  such  vital 
importance,  were  a  very  insignificant  aff'air.*  Even  since  the  American 
Pevolution  a  saddle-bag  boy  on  horseback,  without  any  protection,  car- 
ried the  mail  three  times  a  week  between  New  York  and  Philadelphia. 
People  wondered  at  seeing  the  bags  next  placed  upon  a  sulky  ;  and  were 
lost  in  amazement  when  a  four-horse  stage  became  necessary  for  the 
increasing  load  and  bulk.  Now  a  large  car,  several  times  a  day, 
is  found  insufficient  for  the  amount  of  mail  matter  that  passes  between 
those  two  cities.  Then,  the  post  went  and  returned  by  way  of  "  Blazing 
Star,"  Staten  Island.  In  process  of  time  several  new  routes  were 
opened  to  Philadelphia.  One  crossed  the  bay  to  Staten  Island  in  a 
perogue,  commonly  called  a  periagua,  a  little  open  boat  with  lee-boards,  and 
steered  by  one  man.  Beaching  the  Island  the  traveler  proceeded  to 
the  ferry  at  "Arthur  Bolls'"    Sound,  crossed  in  a  scow  to  New  Jersey, 

*  On  the  opposite  page  will  be  found  a  fac  simile  of  an  advertisement  cut  out 
of  an  old  newspaper  kindly  given  me  by  the  Hon.  Theodore  Faxton,  of  Utica,  N.  Y. 


112 

and  shortly  reached  the  "  Blazing  Star,"  near  Woodbridge.  Journejang 
slowly  to  the  Earitan  Eiver,  New  Brunswick  was  reached  by  a  scow,  and 
in  the  same  manner  Trenton  on  the  Delaware,  until  by  the  third  or  fourth 
day  the  "  City  of  Brotherly  Love  "  made  its  appearance.  Another  route 
advertised  a  commodious  "  stage-boat"  to  start  with  goods  and  passengers 
from  the  City  Hall  Slip  (Coenties)  twice  a  week,  for  Perth  Amboy  Ferry, 
and  thence  by  stage-wagon  to  Cranberry  and  Burlington,  from  which 
point  a  stage-boat  continued  the  line  to  Philadelphia ;  this  trip  generally 
required  three  days.  This  was  long  before  the  days  of  steam-boats  ;  and 
these  "  stage-boats  "  were  small  sloops,  sailed  by  a  single  man  and  boy, 
or  two  men,  and  passing  "  outside,"  as  it  is  still  called,  by  the  Narrows 
and  through  the  "  Lower  Bay,"  these  small  pasaage-vessels,  at  times, 
were  driven  out  to  sea,  thus  oftentimes  causing  vexatious  delays.  In 
very  stormy  weather  the  "  inside  route,"  through  the  Kills,  was  chosen. 
The  most  common  way  to  Philadelphia,  however,  was  to  cross  the  North 
Piver  in  a  sail-boat,  and  then  the  Passaic  and  Hackensack  by  scowsj 
reaching  the  ''  Quaker  City"  by  stages  in  about  three  days.  But  these 
passages  had  their  perils.  The  ''  Blazing  Star  Inn  "  (sign  of  a  comet) 
lay  four  or  five  miles  from  the  Staten  Island  ferry,  and  Baron  De  Kalb, 
then  a  Colonel,  crossing  over  here  in  January,  17(58,  was  the  only  one  of 
nine  passengers  not  frozen  so  as  to  lose  life  or  limb.  The  open  scow  sank 
on  a  sand-bank  and  left  the  whole  party  exposed  all  night.  When  res" 
cued,  he  alone  refused  to  be  warmed  by  the  fire,  but  placing  his  feet  and 
legs  in  cold  water,  went  to  bed  and  arose  uninjured.  One  of  his  com- 
panions died  on  the  scow  before  succor  arrived. 

In  1756,  the  first  stage  started  between  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
— three  days  through.  In  1765,  a  second  stage  was  advertised  for  Phila- 
delphia— a  covered  Jersey  wagon — at  two  pence  a  mile.  The  next  year 
another  line  was  begun  called  the  "  Plying  Machine,"  with  good  wagons 
seats  on  springs,  time  two  days,  and  fare  ^wo  pence  a  mile,  or  twenty 
shillings  through.  John  Mercereau,  at  the  "Blazing  Star,"  ''notifies 
that  persons  may  go  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  and  back  in 
five  days,  remaining  in  Philadelphia  two  nights  and  one  day;  fare, 
twenty  shillings  through.  There  will  be  two  wagons  and  two  drivers, 
and  four  sets  of  horses.  The  passengers  will  lodge  at  Paulus  Hook 
Ferry  the  night  before,  to  start  thence  the  next  morning  early." 

During  the  year  1785,  the  first  stages  commenced  their  trips  between 
New  York  and  Albany,  with  four  horses,  at  four  pence  a  mile,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  North  Piver,  under  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature,  for 
ten  years.  Ten  years  afterward  this  line  was  extended  as  far  as  White- 
stone,  just  beyond  Fort  Schuyler  (Utica).* 

*  In  this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned  that,  during  the  year  1756,  the  first 
British  packet-boats  commenced  sailing  from  New  York  to  Falmouth,  each  letter 


113 

What  a  contrast  between  that  day  and  our  own.  Then  news  from 
England  five  months  old  was  fresh  and  racy.  Now  we  must  have  it  in 
two  hours,  and  then  grumble  at  the  length  of  time  taken  by  the  Atlantic 
Cable  to  convey  the  intelligence.  Then  news  seven  days  old  from  New 
York  to  Boston  was  swift  enough  for  an  express.  Now  if  we  cannot 
obtain  the  news  from  Washington  in  less  than  the  same  number  of  min- 
utes, we  become  almost  frantic,  and  talk  of  starting  new  telegraph  com- 
panies. 

"  In  1766,  the  Methodist  denomination  was  first  organized  in  the  city 
by  Philip  Embury  and  others  ;  and  in  1767,  the  first  church  of  this  sect 
was  erected  upon  the  site  of  the  present  one  in  John,  near  Nassau  street, 
and  like  it,  christened  Wesley  Chapel.  Several  new  streets  were  opened 
about  the  same  time,  among  others  Cliff  street  and  Park  place.  For  the 
better  prevention  of  fires,  an  ordinance  was  passed  directing  that  all  the 
roofs  in  the  city  should  be  covered  with  slate  or  tiles.  For  some  years> 
however,  tiles  alone  were  used,  the  first  building  roofed  with  slate  being, 
it  is  said,  the  City  Hotel  in  Broadwa}'-,  erected  about  1794." 

It  will  be  recollected  that  on  the  death  of  Mr.  De  Lancey,  the  Gov- 
ernment had  devolved  on  Dr.  Cadwallader  Colden,  as  President  of  the 
Council,  until  the  wishes  of  the  Ministry  could  be  ascertained.  Shortly 
after  his  first  speech  to  the  Assembly  on  the  22d  of  October,  1760,  news 
arrived  of  the  death  of  George  the  Second  and  the  accession  of  his  grand- 
son, and  as  it  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  Provincial  Council  that 
the  demise  of  the  King  dissolved  the  Assembly,  writs  were  issued  for  a 
new  one,  returnable  upon  the  3d  of  March,  1761.  Meanwhile,  various 
were  the  conjectures  respecting  the  name  of  the  future  Governor.  At 
one  time  rumor  gave  the  gubernatorial  chair  to  General  Gage  ;  again 
the  public  were  confident  that  Thomas  Pownal  would  be  the  fortunate 
man.  Some  few  suggested  Colden,  and  others  General  Monckton.  All 
surmises  were  at  length  set  at  rest.  Pownal  received  the  Governorship 
of  Jamaica,  Gage  remained  at  Montreal,  and  Colden,  having  been 
appointed  Lieutenant-Governor,  announced  to  the  Assembly  that  his 
Majesty  had  been  pleased  "  to  distinguish  the  services  of  Major-General 
Monckton  by  constituting  him  his  Captain- General  and  Governor-in- 
Chief  of  the  Province."  The  new  Governor,  however,  did  not  long 
occupy  the  gubernatorial  chair,  for,  preferring  the  excitement  of  arms  to 
the  cares  and  troubles  of  office,  he,  like  Governor  Hardy,  requested  to 
be  allowed  to  resume  his  old  profession.  Accordingly,  having  produced 
his  commission  to  the  council  and  taken  the  oaths  of  office,  he  sailed  from 

carried  "  to  pay  four-penny  weight  of  silver."  It  is  also  worth  noticing  here,  that 
the  earliest  voyage  to  China  from  New  York,  was  made  during  the  year  1785, 
In  the  ship  Empress,  Captain  Greene.  The  same  year  Captain  Dean  performed  the 
same  voyage  in  an  Albany  sloop — a  feat  at  that  day  more,  remarkable  than  the  sail" 
ing  of  the  little  "  Red,  White  and  Blue,"  across  the  Atlantic  a  few  months  since. 

8 


114 

New  York  on  tlie  last  day  of  November,  1761,  leaving  the  government 
in  the  hands  of  Doctor  Golden. 

The  administration  of  Doctor  Golden  was  at  first  marked  by  no  event 
of  special  moment,  and  the  intercourse  between  himself  and  his  Assembly, 
if  we  except  the  slight  opposition  against  the  theater  in  Beekman  street, 
was  of  the  most  amiable  character.  But  this  calm  was  to  be  of  short 
duration,  for  shortly  after  receiving  his  commission  of  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor, he  was  instrumental  in  an  act  which  set  not  only  the  Assembly,  but 
the  whole  province  in  a  blaze.  As  by  the  death  of  Mr.  De  Lancey, 
the  seat  of  Ghief -Justice  had  become  vacant,  a  general  wish  was  expressed 
by  the  community  that  the  vacancy  should  at  once  be  filled.  The  three 
remaining  judges,  Horsmanden,  Ghambers  and  Jones,  having  doubts  as 
to  their  ability  to  issue  processes  under  their  old  commissions  since  the 
death  of  the  Eling,  likewise  urged  the  Lieutenant-Governor  to  appoint  a 
successor  without  delay.  Golden,  however,  was  more  concerned  for  his 
own  and  his  family's  advancement  than  for  the  welfare  of  the  colony. 
In  the  same  letter  in  which  he  announced  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  the 
death  of  De  Lancey,  he  had  recommended  his  eldest  son  for  the  seat  at 
the  Gouncil  Board,  made  vacant  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor's  death,  and 
in  the  same  fawning  and  grasping  spirit  he  now  desired  the  Earl  of 
Halifax,  the  Golonial  Secretary  of  State,  to  nominate  a  Ghief- Justice. 
The  result  was,  not  only  the  nomination,  but  the  actual  appointment  of 
Benjamin  Pratt,  a  Boston  lawyer,  to  the  seat,  not,  as  had  been  usual 
before  the  death  of  his  late  Majesty,  "  during  good  behavior,"  but  "  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  King." 

The  appointment,  in  this  manner  and  at  this  time,  was  peculiarly 
unfortunate.  The  sister  colony  of  Massachusetts  was  now  writhing  under 
the  "  writs  of  assistance,"  which  the  British  Ministry  had  so  recklessly 
determined  to  force  upon  the  colonies.  These  *'  writs"  had  been  requested 
by  the  custom-house  officers  to  enable  them  the  better  to  enforce  the 
revenue.  They  were  in  efi^ect  search-warrants,  and  whoever  held  them 
might  with  impunity  break  open  a  citizen's  house  and  violate  the  sanc- 
tity of  his  dwelling.  The  inhabitants  were  justly  incensed  at  this  exer- 
cise of  arbitrary  power,  and  the  more  so,  as  they  saw  no  disposition  on 
the  part  of  those  in  authority  to  resist  this  infringement  upon  their 
liberties.  Bernard,  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  scrupled  not  to 
become  the  tool  of  the  Earl  of  Egremont,  Pitt's  successor,  and  boldly 
declared  himself  in  favor  of  adopting  the  odious  plan  of  the  Grown  for 
increasing  the  revenue.  Hutchinson,  the  Ghief-Justice  of  the  province, 
was  equally  subservient  to  the  royal  authority.  An  opportunity,  how- 
ever, soon  came  in  which  the  temper  of  the  people  found  vent.  A  peti- 
tion having  been  presented  to  the  Superior  Gourt  by  the  officers  of  the 
customs  that  "  writs  of  assistance"  might  ensue,  the  question  was  argued 
at  length  in  February  (1761)  before  the  Ghief-Justice  and  his  four  asso- 


115 

ciate  justices.  Jeremiah  Gridley,  on  behalf  of  the  Crown,  argued  for  the 
legaUty  of  the  writ,  on  the  ground  that  as  the  writ  was  allowed  to  the 
revenue  officers  in  England,  to  refuse  the  same  powers  to  the  colonial 
officers,  would  be  to  deny  that  "the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  is  the 
sovereign  legislature  of  the  British  empire.'' 

The  fearless  and  impulsive  James  Otis,  who  had  resigned  his  office 
as  Advocate-General,  that,  untrammeled,  he  might  argue  this  case  against 
the  Crown,  appeared  for  the  people  of  Boston.  "  These  writs,"  he 
exclaimed,  "  are  the  worst  instruments  of  arbitrary  power,  the  most 
destructive  of  English  liberty  and  the  fundamental  principles  of  law." 
"With  impassioned  eloquence,  he  showed  to  the  court  the  nature  of  these 
writs.  ''  In  the  first  place,"  he  said,  ''  the  writ  is  universal,  being  directed 
to  all  and  singular  justices,  sheriffs,  constables,  and  all  other  officers  and 
subjects,  so  that,  in  short,  it  is  directed  to  every  subject  in  the  King's 
dominions.  Every  one  with  this  writ  may  be  a  tyrant ;  if  this  commis- 
sion be  legal,  a  tyrant  in  a  legal  manner.  Also  may  control,  imprison, 
or  murder  any  one  within  the  realm.  In  the  next  place,  it  is  perpetual. 
A  man  is  accountable  to  no  person  for  his  doings.  *  *  ^ 

In  the  third  place,  a  person  with  this  writ,  in  the  day  time  may  enter  all 
houses,  shops,  &c.,  at  will,  and  command  all  to  assist  him.  Now,  one  of 
the  most  essential  branches  of  English  liberty  is  the  freedom  of  one's 
house.  A  man's  house  is  his  castle,  and  whilst  he  is  quiet  he  is  as  well 
guarded  as  a  prince  in  his  castle.  This  writ,  if  it  should  be  declared 
legal,  would  totally  annihilate  this  privilege.  Custom-house  officers  may 
enter  our  houses  when  they  please.  We  are  commanded  to  permit  their 
entry.  Their  menial  servants  may  enter,  may  break  locks,  bars,  and 
everything  in  their  way,  and  whether  they  break  through  malice  or 
revenge,  no  man,  no  court  may  inquire.  Bare  suspicion  without  oath  is 
sufficient ;  and,"  continued  he,  "  I  am  determined  to  sacrifice  estate,  ease, 
health,  applause,  and  even  life  to  the  sacred  calls  of  my  country  in  oppo- 
sition to  a  kind  of  power  which  cost  one  King  of  England  his  head  and 
another  his  throne,  and  to  my  dying  day  I  will  oppose,  with  all  the 
power  and  faculties  that  God  has  given  me,  all  such  instruments  of  slavery 
on  the  one  hand  and  villainy  on  the  other !" 

At  the  next  term  of  the  court,  the  writ  of  assistance  was  granted, 
but  such  was  the  feeling  of  the  people  that  the  custom-house  officers, 
although  having  the  writs  in  their  pockets,  dared  not  in  a  single  instance 
carry  them  into  execution.  But  although  the  arguments  of  Otis  failed  to 
procure  a  decision  in  favor  of  the  people,  yet  they  did  not  die  within  the 
walls  of  the  court-house.  Caught  up  by  his  hearers,  they  were  borne,  as 
if  on  the  wind,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  "  I  do 
say  in  the  most  solemn  manner,"  writes  Mr.  Adams,  "  that  Mr.  Otis 
oration  against  writs  of  assistance,  breathed  into  this  nation  the  breath 
of  Kfe." 


116 

With  these  stirring  appeals  of  James  Otis  ringing  in  their  ears,  it 
may  readily  be  supposed  that  the  people  of  New  York  were  in  no  mood 
for  this  further  encroachment  upon  their  liberties.  "  To  make  the  King's 
will,"  said  they,  "  the  term  of  office,  is  to  make  the  bench  of  judges  the 
instrument  of  the  royal  prerogative."  Chambers,  Horsmanden,  and 
Jones  refused  to  act  longer  unless  they  could  hold  their  commissions 
during  good  behavior.  Champions  at  once  arose  to  do  battle  for  the 
people.  Conspicuous  among  these  were  William  Livingston,  John  Morin 
Scott,  and  WilUam  Smith,  all  prominent  lawyers  and  vigorous  thinkers 
and  writers  ;  and  they  protested  through  the  public  prints  against  this 
attempt  to  render  the  judiciary  dependent  upon  th©  Crown.  Nor  were 
their  efforts  entirely  fruitless,  for  in  the  answer  of  the  Assembly  on  the 
17th  of  December,  to  the  request  of  Dr.  Colden  that  the  usual  salary  of 
three  hundred  pounds  to  the  Chief-Justice  should  be  increased,  it  was 
resolved  "  that  as  the  salaries  allowed  for  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court 
have  been  and  still  appear  to  be  sufficient  to  engage  gentlemen  of  the 
first  figure,  both  as  to  capacity  and  fortune  in  the  colony,  to  accept  of 
these  offices,  it  would  be  highly  improper  to  augment  the  salary  of  Chief- 
Justice  on  this  occasion ;"  nor  would  they  allow  even  the  usual  salary 
unless  the  commissions  of  the  Chief- Justice  and  the  other  Judges  were 
granted  during  good  behavior.  To  this  Colden  refused  to  accede,  and 
Chief-Justice  Pratt,  having  served  several  terms  without  a  salary,  was 
finally  reimbursed  out  of  his  Majesty's  quit-rents  of  the  province. 

Thus  were  the  people  of  New  York  following  in  the  wake  of  their 
Puritan  neighbors.  Colden  himself,  as  if  he  had  some  glimmerings  of 
the  future,  began  to  doubt  the  result.  "  For  some  years  past,"  he  wrote 
to  the  Board  of  Trade,  "  three  popular  lawyers  educated  in  Connecticut, 
who  have  strongly  imbibed  the  independent  principles  of  that  country, 
calumniate  the  administration  in  every  exercise  of  the  prerogative,  and 
get  the  applause  of  the  mass  by  propagating  the  doctrine  that  all 
authority  is  derived  from  the  people." 

It  was  in  the  fall  of  1763  that  George  Grenville  and  Lord  North  first 
devised  the  plan  of  raising  a  revenue  by  the  sale  of  stamps  to  the  colonists. 
Grenville,  however,  hesitated  long  before  pressing  this  measure ;  and  it 
was  not  until  the  22d  of  March,  of  this  year,  that  the  Stamp  Act  passed, 
and  received  the  signature  of  the  King.  The  Act  declared  that  thence- 
forth, no  legal  instrument  should  possess  any  validity  in  the  colonies 
unless  it  was  stamped  by  the  Government.*  Long  before  the  passage  of 
the  Act,  the  rumor  that  such  a  project  was  even  meditated  by  the  Ministry 
produced  a  universal  outburst  of  indignation.  If  Parliament  wished  to 
raise  any  sum,  said  the  colonists,  let  them  employ  the  usual  method  of 

*  "By  this  act,  a  ream  of  bail  bonds  stamped  was  £100;  a  ream  of  common 
printed  ones  before,  was  £15;  a  ream  of  stamped  policies  of  insurance  was  £1Q0;  of 
common  ones,  without  stamps,  £20." — Bradford,  Mass.,  i.,  13. 


117 

^vriting  circular  letters  to  the  provinces,  requesting  supplies  according  to 
the  ability  of  each.  When  thus  applied  to  heretofore,  the  King  had 
never  found  them  remiss,  but  on  the  contrary — as  their  loyal  obedience 
to  these  requisitions  during  the  last  war  had  fully  shown — they  had 
always  responded  with  alacrity.  Taxation,  however,  without  representa- 
tion in  Parliament,  was  tyranny,  to  which  they  would  not  submit.  These 
idews  were  advocated  with  great  power  by  James  Otis  in  a  series  of 
pamphlets ;  and  the  public  prints  teemed  with  similar  discussions,  all  of 
which  were  read  with  care  and  reflection.  The  AssembUes  of  Virginia 
and  New  York  especially,  by  their  protests,  took  firm  ground  against 
the  passage  of  the  Act,  but  the  petition  of  the  former  body  was  not 
received  in  England  until  it  was  too  late,  while  that  of  the  latter  was  so 
intemperate  in  its  expressions  against  the  newly-assumed  pretensions  of 
the  Parhament,  that  the  agent,  Mr.  Charles,  was  unable  to  find  any 
member  of  that  body  bold  enough  to  present  it. 

It  may,  therefore,  readily  be  seen,  that  if  the  mere  intimation  that 
such  an  odious  measure  was  in  contemplation,  produced  so  much  solici- 
tude, the  passage  of  the  Act  itself  was  not  calculated  to  allay  the  growing 
apprehensions  of  the  people.  But  it  was  no  sudden  ebullition  of  indigna- 
tion that  first  manifested  itself.  Indeed,  so  amazed  were  the  colonists  at 
the  presumption  of  Parliament,  that  when  the  news  was  first  received 
their  feelings  were  too  deep  for  utterance.  Hutchinson,  the  Chief-Justice 
of  Massachusetts,  mistaking  this  for  submission,  hastened  to  write  to  the 
Ministry  that  "  his  countrymen  were  waiting,  not  to  consider  if  they  must 
submit  to  a  stamp-duty,  but  to  know  when  its  operation  was  to  com- 
mence." He  knew  not  that  this  calm  was  but  the  stillness  which 
preceded  the  tornado  that  was  to  sweep  with  such  desolating  fury 
throughout  the  land  !  He  was  shortly  undeceived.  Mutterings  began 
to  be  heard  in  every  province,  which,  in  New  England  and  New  York, 
soon  grew  into  acts  of  violence.  On  the  1-itth.  of  August,  Andrew  Oliver^ 
the  brother-in-law  of  the  Chief-Justice,  who  had  received  the  appointment 
of  Stamp-Distributer  for  Massachusetts,  was,  together  with  Lord  Bute, 
suspended  in  effigy  from  a  tree  in  one  of  the  streets  of  Boston.  In  reply 
to  the  command  of  the  Chief-Justice  to  take  down  those  figures,  the 
Sheriff  gave  a  flat  refusal ;  and  the  Council  of  the  Province  likewise 
declined  to  interfere.  That  same  night,  the  mob,  taking  the  images 
down,  carried  them  to  the  newly-erected  Stamp-Office,  which  they  imme- 
diately razed.  Ohver's  dwelling  was  next  assailed,  the  windows  and 
furniture  demoHshed,  and  the  effigies  burned  on  Fort  Hill.  The  next 
day,  Oliver  resigned ;  but  he  was  obliged,  the  same  evening,  to  make  a 
pubHc  recantation  at  a  bonfire  which  the  populace  had  kindled.  But, 
having  once  given  vent  to  their  long  pent-up  exasperation,  they  did  not 
stop  here.  Urged  on  by  a  popular  preacher,  Jonathan  Mayhew  by  name, 
who  had  taken  for  his  text  the  previous  day,  "  I  would  they  were  even 


118 

cut  off  whicli  trouble  you/'  tliey  destroyed,  on  the  26th,  the  records  and 
files  of  the  Court  of  Admiralty,  and  breaking  into  the  house  of  Hallowel, 
the  Comptroller  of  Customs,  broke  the  furniture,  and  freely  drank  of  the 
choice  wines  in  the  cellar.  To  their  just  anger  were  now  added  the 
fumes  of  liquor,  and  proceeding  forthwith  to  the  residence  of  Hutchinson, 
they  tore  the  paintings  from  the  walls,  destroyed  the  plate,  and  scattered 
his  large  and  valuable  library  of  books  and  manuscripts  to  the  winds ; 
nor  did  they  depart  until  the  interior  of  the  building,  even  to  the  partition- 
walls,  was  completely  demolished.  Happily,  Hutchinson  and  his  innocent 
family,  having  received  timely  notice  of  their  danger,  had  escaped  before 
the  arrival  of  the  rioters — otherwise,  the  crime  of  murder  might  have 
been  added  to  these  violent  and  disgraceful  proceedings. 

In  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  Hampshii*e,  the  popular 
indignation  showed  itself  in  similar  demonstrations,  though  not  of  so 
violent  a  character.  The  effect,  however,  in  those  provinces  was  the 
same  ;  each  of  the  Stamp-Distributers  being  forced  to  resign  to  save  him- 
self from  odium,  if  not  from  death. 

Meantime,  the  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  resolved,  on  the  6th  of 
June,  that  "  it  was  highly  expedient  there  should  be  a  meeting,  as  soon 
as  might  be,  of  committees  from  the  Houses  of  Eepresentatives  or 
Burgesses  in  the  several  colonies,  to  consult  on  the  present  circumstances 
of  the  colonies,  and  the  difficulties  to  which  they  were  and  must  be 
reduced,  and  to  consider  of  a  General  Congress — to  be  held  at  New  York 
the  first  Tuesday  of  October."  To  this  invitation  the  colonies  heartily 
responded,  and  in  the  Convention,  held  at  the  time  and  place  designated, 
they  were  all  represented,  except  New  Hampshire,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  and  Georgia.  The  three  latter,  however,  although  prevented 
by  their  Governors,  by  continued  adjournments,  from  sending  delegates, 
signified  by  letters  their  willingness  to  acquiesce  in  whatever  measures 
the  Convention  might  adopt ;  so  also,  wrote  New  Hampshire.  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Colden,  who  had  from  the  beginning  pronounced  the  Conven- 
tion unconstitutional  and  unlawful,  likewise  endeavored,  by  successive 
adjournments,  to  prevent  the  Assembly  of  New  York  from  electing 
delegates.  But  an  Assembly  that  had  driven  Clinton  from  his  chair,  and 
had  successfully  fought  through  so  many  years  against  a  permanent 
support,  was  not  to  be  thus  easily  foiled ;  and  a  committee  appointed  by 
them  in  October,  1764,  to  correspond  with  their  sister  colonies  upon 
recent  acts  of  Parliament  in  relation  to  trade,  now  took  their  seats  in  the 
Congress  as  the  representatives  of  the  people  of  New  York. 

Timothy  Huggles,  who  had  been  sent  by  Bernard,  the  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  to  thwart  the  patriotic  efforts  of  his  colleagues,  was  chosen 
President  of  the  Congress,  and  John  Cotton,  Clerk.  No  time  was 
lost.  Committees  were  immediately  appointed  to  draft  petitions  to 
Parliament,  having  for  their  burden  the  Stamp  Act ;  and  after  a  har- 


119 

monious  session  of  fourteen  days,  the  Convention  dissolved,  havlnj^ 
adopted  a  declaration  of  rights,  a  petition  to  the  King,  and  a  memorial 
to  both  Houses  of  Parliament — the  latter  being  drawn  by  James  Otis. 

As  before  remarked,  the  people  of  New  York  were  among  the  most 
bitter  opponents  of  the  Stamp  Act.  While  the  riots  were  going  on  in  Bos- 
ton, the  Act  itself  was  reprinted  and  hawked  about  the  streets  of  New 
York  City,  as  ''  The  folly  of  England,  and  ruin  of  America."  Secret 
organizations  styling  themselves  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  met  to  discuss 
plans  of  resistance.  Warned  by  the  example  of  his  brother  appointees, 
in  the  neighboring  colonies,  McEvers,  the  Stamp-Distributer,  resigned. 
General  Gage,  at  the  solicitation  of  Colden,  ordered  down,  in  July,  from 
Crown  Point,  a  company  of  the  Sixtieth  Pegiment,  for  the  defense  of 
Port  George,  the  guns  of  which  were  remounted,  new  ordnance  ordered, 
and  the  magazine  replenished  with  a  bountiful  supply  of  ammunition. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  first  cargo  of  stamps  in  the  harbor,  toward  the  end 
of  October,  placards  were  posted  up  in  the  streets  and  at  the  Merchants' 
Cofiee-House,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

"pro  pateia. 

"  The  first  man  that  either  distributes  or  makes  use  of  stampt  paper,  let  him 
take  care  oj  his  house,  person,  and  effects. 

"  vox  POPULI. 
"  WE    DAKE." 

Terrified  at  signs  he  could  not  misunderstand,  the  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor had  the  stamps  conveyed  for  greater  security  to  the  fort ;  and  in 
great  trepidation  summoned  the  members  of  his  privy  council  for  their 
advice.  But  notwithstanding  he  sent  repeated  messages,  and  notwith- 
standing also,,  that  seven  members  were  in  the  city,  only  three,  Hors- 
manden,  Smith,  and  Peid,  responded  to  his  call,  and  they  declined  giving 
any  advice  unless  there  was  a  fuller  Board.  In  this  state  of  affairs, 
nothing  was  left  to  Colden  but  to  shut  himself  up  in  the  fort,  and  await 
the  result.     He  was  not  long  in  suspense. 

On  the  1st  of  November,  the  day  appointed  for  the  Stamp  Act  to  go 
into  operation,  the  popular  indignation,  which  had  been  so  long  smould- 
ering, burst  forth.  Early  in  the  evening,  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  numbering 
several  thousand,  appeared  before  the  fort  and  demanded  the  stamps. 
On  being  refused,  they  proceeded  to  the  open  fields — a  portion  of  which 
is  now  the  Park —  and  having  erected  a  gibbet,  they  hung  the  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor in  effigy,  and  suspended  by  his  side  a  figure,  holding  in 
his  hand  a  boot,  representing  Lord  Bute.*     The  images  after  hanging 

*Colden,  it  is  true,  in  a  letter  under  date  of  November  5th  to  Secretary  Con- 
"way,  says  that  the  image  suspended  by  the  side  of  his  effigy  was  intended  to  repre- 
sent  the   devil.      In  a  manuscript   letter,  however,  now   before  me,  written  by 


120 

some  little  time,  were  taken  down  and  carried,  together  witli  the  scaffold, 
in  a  torch-light  procession  to  the  gates  of  the  fort.  Having  in  vain 
knocked  on  the  gates  for  admission,  the  mob  broke  into  Colden's  carriage- 
house,  brought  forth  the  family-coach,  placed  inside  of  it  the  two  effigies, 
and  having  again  paraded  them  around  the  city',  returned  to  within  one 
hundred  yards  of  the  fort-gate,  and  hung  the  figures  upon  a  second  gal- 
lows erected  for  that  purpose.  A  bonfire  was  then  made  of  part  of  the 
wooden  fence,  which,  at  that  time,  surrounded  the  Bowling  Green,  and 
the  effigies,  together  with  the  Lieutenant-Governor's  coach,  a  single-horse 
chair,  two  sleighs,  and  several  light  vehicles  were  cast  into  the  flames 
and  entirely  consumed.  While  the  flames  were  lighting  up  the  black 
muzzles  of  the  guns  of  the  fort,  another  party,  having  spiked  the  cannon 
on  the  Battery,  proceeded  to  the  house  of  Major  James,  an  artillery  offi- 
cer, who  had  made  himself  especially  obnoxious  by  his  having  aided  in 
putting  the  fort  in  a  suitable  posture  for  defense,  and  having  burned 
everything  of  value,  returned  in  triumph,  bringing  with  them  the  colors 
of  the  Royal  Artillery  Regiment. 

When  McEvers  resigned.  Golden  had  sneered  ;  but  even  he  was  now 
compelled  to  give  way.  The  day  after  the  riot,  he  caused  a  large  placard 
to  be  posted  up,  signed  by  Goldsbrow  Banyar,  the  Deputy- Secretary  of 
the  Council,  stating  that  he  should  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  the 
stamps,  but  would  leave  them  with  Sir  Henry  Moore,  Bart.,  who  was  then 
on  his  way  from  England  to  assume  the  government.  This  declaration, 
however,  did  not  satisfy  the  Sons  of  Liberty.  Through  their  leader,  Isaac 
Sears,  they  insisted  that  the  stamped  paper  should  be  immediately  deli- 
vered into  their  hands,  threatening,  in  case  of  a  refusal,  to  storm  the  fort 
where  it  was  deposited.  The  Common  Council,  alarmed  at  the  uncontrol- 
able  fury  of  the  mob,  and  fearing  an  effusion  of  blood,  added,  likewise? 
their  solicitation  that  the  stamps  might  be  deposited  in  the  City  Hall.  In 
answer  to  this  latter  request,  the  cause  of  the  dispute  was  delivered  up, 
after  considerable  negotiation,  to  the  Corporation — the  Board  giving  a 
pledge  to  make  good  all  the  stamps  that  might  be  lost. 

But  if  the  spirit  of  the  mob  could  not  be  subdued,  it  might  at  least 
be  guided.  On  the  6th  of  November,  a  meeting  of  the  more  conservative 
citizens  was  called,  and  Sears,  with  four  others,*  was  authorized  to  corre- 
spend  with  the  several  colonies  upon  the  new  and  alarming  feature  of  the* 

Alexander  Golden,  his  son,  to  Sir  William  Johnson,  a  month  after,  and  when  the, 
facts  therefore  could  be  better  ascertained,  the  excitement  having  partially  subsi- 
ded, the  writer  says  that  the  second  image  was  designed  for  Lord  Bute.  The  hoot 
has  now  significance  as  a  rebus  of  Lord  Bute  which  before  it  had  not.  **  His  Lord- 
ship's [John  Stewart,  Earl  of  Bute]  established  type  with  the  mob  was  a  jack-boot 
a  wretched  pun  on  his  Christian  name  and  title." — MauccauUifs  Essay  on  the  Earl  of 
ChdHiam. 

*  These  were  John  Lamb,  Grushom  Mott,  William  Wiley,  and  Thomas  Robinson. 


121 

prerogative  of  Parliament.  The  committee  thus  appointed  entered  into  their 
work  with  zeal,  the  fruits  of  which  soon  become  apparent.  A  resolution^ 
emanating  from  New  York  and  adopted  by  the  other  colonies,  directed 
the  English  merchants  to  ship  no  more  goods  to  America,  and  declared 
that  no  more  goods  coming  from  England  should  be  sold  on  commission  in 
the  colonies  after  the  first  day  of  January,  1766.  Nor  did  the  patriotism  of 
the  people  end  here.  The  wearing  of  cloth  of  British  manufacture  was 
dispensed  with,  coarse  home-spun  garments  taking  its  place.  Marriages 
were  no  longer  performed  by  licenses,  upon  which  the  Stamp  Act  had  now 
laid  duty,  but  were  solemnized  by  being  proclaimed  in  church.  Every- 
where resistance  to  kingly  oppression  was  the  watch-word. 

The  new  Governor,  Sir  Henry  Moore,  Bart.,  who  had  been  appointed 
in  June,  to  succeed  General  Monckton,  arrived  in  New  York  the  beginning 
of  November,  1765,  after  a  tedious  passage  of  ten  weeks.  When  he  first 
landed  he  was  disposed  to  assume  a  haughty  tone  in  relation  to  the  Stamp 
Act.  The  Corporation  offered  him  the  freedom  of  the  city  in  a  gold  box, 
but  he  refused  to  accept  it  unless  upon  stamped  paper.  The  custom- 
house cleared  vessels,  but  the  men-of-war  ran  out  their  guns  and  refused 
to  allow  them  to  leave  the  harbor,  unless  they  produced  a  certificate  from 
the  Governor  that  no  stamps  were  to  be  had.  This  the  latter  dechned  to 
give,  and  the  vessels  remained  at  the  wharfs.  The  spectacle,  however,  of 
Colden  quaking  with  fear  in  the  fort,  and  the  judicious  advice  of  his  coun- 
cil, soon  convinced  him  of  the  folly  of  any  attempt  to  carry  the  Act  into 
execution ;  and  before  his  first  meeting  with  the  Assembly,  he  openly 
announced  that  he  had  suspended  his  power  to  execute  the  Stamp  Act. 
To  still  further  appease  the  people  he  dismantled  the  fort,  very  much  to 
the  disgust  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  who,  not  having  been  consulted, 
retii'ed  in  chagrin  to  his  country-seat  at  Flushing. 

Owing  to  the  successive  adjournments  by  Colden,  the  General 
Assembly  met,  for  the  first  time  this  year,  on  the  13th  of  November. 
Only  fourteen  members,  however,  answering  to  their  names,  the  Speaker 
announced  the  appointment  of  Sir  Henry  Moore  to  the  government,  and 
adjourned  the  Assembly  to  the  19th. 

The  severest  test,  perhaps,  of  public  opinion  at  this  time,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Governor's  opening  address,  which  was  brief  and  general, 
and  contained  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  the  existing  troubles.  The 
answer  of  the  House  was  equally  guarded ;  each  party  seeming  to  be 
averse  to  broach  a  topic  that  was  so  unpleasant  to  the  other.  But  if  the 
Assembly  were  unwilling  to  allude  in  their  address  to  that  which  was  now 
upon  every  mind,  they  showed  no  indisposition  to  handle  it  among  them- 
selves. Among  their  first  resolutions  was  one,  not  only  approving  the 
action  of  the  committee  in  meeting  with  the  Congress  in  October,  but 
tendering  them  also,  their  warmest  thanks  for  the  part  which  they  had 
taken  in  the  deliberations  of ^  that  body.     In  connection  with  this  resolu- 


122 

tion  tliey  further  resolved,  neniine  contradicente, "  that  for  obtaining  relief 
from  the  operation  and  execution  of  the  Act  of  Parliament  called  the 
Stamp  Act,  humble  petitions  be  presented  to  his  Majesty,  the  House  of 
Lords,  and  the  House  of  Commons,  as  nearly  similar  to  those  drawn  up 
by  the  late  Congress  as  the  particular  circumstances  of  the  colony 
will  admit  of."  A  committee  was  therefore  appointed  to  draw  up  the 
three  petitions,  which,  signed  by  William  Nicoll,  the  Speaker,  were  for- 
warded, in  the  name  of  the  House,  to  Mr.  Charles  and  John  Sargeant, 
the  colony's  agents  in  London. 

But  the  action  of  the  Assembly  did  not  keep  pace  with  the  public 
requirements ;  at  least,  so  thought  the  Sons  of  Liberty.  On  the 
26th,  a  sealed  letter  was  handed  by  an  unknown  person  to  Mr.  Lott, 
Clerk  of  the  House,  directed  "  to  mr.  lott,  merch't.  in  new  yoek,"  and 
ran  as  follows  : 

"  On  receiving  you  are  to  read  the  in   closed  in  the  open  Assembly  of  this 
Province  New  York  as  you  are  dark  and  whare  of  fail  not  on  your  perrel. 

(Signed)  "  FREEDOM." 

The  inclosed  letter  was  directed  "  To  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Frovince  of  liew  YorJc,'^  and  was  in  the  following  words : 

"  G-entlemen  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  you  are  to  Consider  what  is  to  be 
Done  first  Drawing  of  as  much  money  from  the  Lieut.  Governor's  Sallery  as  will 
Repare  the  fort  &  on  Spike  the  Guns  on  the  Battery  &  the  nex  a  Repeal  of  the  Gun- 
ning Act  &  then  there  will  be  a  good  Militia  but  not  before  &  also  as  you  are 
asetting  you  may  Consider  of  the  Building  Act  as  it  is  to  take  place  nex  years 
which  it  Cannot  for  there  is  no  supply  of  Some  Sort  of  materials  Required  this  Law 
is  not  Ground  on  Reasons  but  there  is  a  great  many  Reasons  to  the  Contrary  so 
Gentlemen  we  desire  you  will  Do  what  lays  in  your  power  for  the  Good  of  the 
public  but  if  you  take  this  ill  be  not  so  Conceited  as  to  Say  or  think  that  other 
People  know  nothing  about  Government  you  have  made  their  laws  and  say  they  are 
Right  but  they  are  Rong  and  take  a  way  Leberty.  Oppressions  of  your  make  Gen- 
tlemen make  us  Sons  of  Liberty  think  you  are  not  for  the  Public  Liberty  this  is 
the  General  Opinion  of  the  People  for  this  part  of  Your  Conduct. 
"  1765  "  by  order  "  Sign'd,  one  &  all. 

"  Nov'r  26 

"  FREEDOM." 

Both  of  these  letters — which,  by  the  way,  bear  on  their  face  unmis- 
takeable  evidence  of  their  being  designedly  written  in  this  illiterate  man- 
ner, probably  for  the  greater  disguise* — were  laid  before  the  House  by 
the  Clerk,  who  dared  not  refuse.  But  the  Assembly  were  not  disposed 
to  have  any  such  gratuitous  advice ;  nor  was  their  patriotism  yet  attuned 
to  the  same  accord  with  that  of  the  writer.  However  much,  moreover, 
hey  might  be  disposed  themselves,  to  criticise  the  unpopular  Colden, 
tthey  did  not  choose  to  be  instructed  by  the  ironical  suggestion  in  rela 
tion  to  the  Lieutenant-Governors  salary  and  the  spiked  guns.     They 

*  The  entire  absence  of  punctuation  in  the  same  letter,  with  the  correct  abbre- 
viation of  Sign'd  and  Noyr..,  and  the  correct  spelling  of  the  more  difficult  words, 
show  clearly  the  marks  of  design. 


123 

therefore  resolved,  that  the  said  letters  were  rebellious,  scandalous,  and 
seditions ;  that  they  were  designed  to  inflame  the^  minds  of  the  good 
people  of  the  colony  against  their  representatives ;  and  that  an  address 
should  be  presented  to  the  Governor  requesting  him  to  offer  a  reward 
of  fifty  pounds  for  their  author  or  authors,  that  they  might  be  brought 
to  "  condign  punishment;  "  pledging  themselves,  at  the  same  time,  to 
provide  the  means  of  defraying  the  above  reward. 

On  the  3d  of  December,  the  Governor,  by  Mr.  Banyar,  sent  down 
a  message  to  the  House,  in  which  the  latter  was  informed  that  by  the 
Mutiny  Act,  passed  during  the  last  session  of  Parliament,  the  expense  of 
furnishing  the  King's  troops  in  America  with  quarters  and  other  necessa- 
ries, was  to  be  defrayed  by  the  several  colonies.  In  consequence  thereof 
the  Commander-in-Chief  had  demanded  that  provision  be  made  for  the 
troops,  whether  quartered  within  or  marching  through  the  province  ;  and 
it  was  now  requested  to  make  provision  accordingly. 

This  request  was  at  this  time  exceedingly  inopportune.  It  involved  a 
question  which,  in  Lord  Loudoun's  time — when  the  country  was  engaged 
in  a  disastrous  war,  and  when,  therefore,  there  was  a  seeming  necessity 
for  such  provision — had  been  productive  of  ill-feeling,  and  almost  of  riots. 
It  may  readily  be  seen,  therefore,  that  when  no  such  necessity  existed, 
and  when  the  public  mind  was  in  such  an  excited  state,  the  Assembly 
were  in  no  mood  to  comply.  The  message  was  accordingly  referred 
to  a  committee  of  the  whole  House,  of  which  Robert  R.  Livingston  was 
the  chairman.  On  the  19th  they  reported  against  it,  on  the  following 
grounds :  that  when  his  Majesty's  forces  were  quartered  in  barracks 
belonging  to  the  King,  they  were  always  furnished  with  necessaries  with- 
out any  expense  to  the  counties  in  which  they  were  quartered ;  and  that 
if  any  expense  was  necessary  for  quartering  troops  on  their  march,  and 
supplying  them  with  what  was  required  by  the  Act,  the  House  would 
consider  thereof  after  the  expense  was  incurred.  Sir  Henry  Moore  was 
too  prudent  a  man  to  press  the  matter  further  ;  and  having  satisfied  his 
duty  to  the  Crown  by  the  formal  demand  for  quarters,  he  allowed  the 
matter  to  drop  for  the  present. 

The  Sons  of  Liberty  were  still  in  the  ascendant.  The  last  week  in 
November,  two  hundred  of  them  crossed  over  to  Flushing,  and  compelled 
the  Maryland  Stamp-Distributer,  who  had  fled  thither  for  safety,  to  sign 
a  resignation  of  his  office.  In  December,  ten  boxes  of  stamps  were  seized 
on  their  arrival  in  port  and  consumed  in  a  bonfire.  "  We  are  in  a  shock- 
ing situation  at  present,"  wrote  Alexander  Colden  to  Sir  William  John- 
son, with  whom  the  former  was  on  terms  of  intimacy,  "  and  God 
knows  how  it  will  end.  Its  not  sale  for  a  person  to  speak,  for  their  is  no 
knowing  friend  from  foe." 

Opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act  still  continued.  In  January,  1 766,  a  com- 
mittee from  the  Sons  of  Liberty  waited  upon  six  persons  in  Albany  and 


124 

requested  them  to  take  an  oath  that  they  would  not  accept  the  office  of 
Stamp-Distributer.  All  but  Henry  Van  Schaack,  the  Albany  post-master, 
having  complied,  the  mob  went  to  the  latter's  house,  a  little  below  the 
city,  broke  the  windows,  furniture,  and  the  piazza,  and  taking  his  pleasure- 
sleigh  into  town,  consumed  it  in  a  bonfire.  Alarmed  at  these  demonstra- 
tions, Van  Schaack  took  the  required  oath,  and  the  mob  dispersed. 

In  New  York  City,  the  committee,  of  which  Isaac  Sears  was  chair- 
man, were  still  active.  Having  astertained  by  their  secret  agents  in 
Philadelphia  that  a  merchant,  Lewis  Pintard,  had  sent  to  that  city  a 
mediterranean  pass  and  a  bond  on  stamped  paper,  they  waited  upon  the 
merchant  and  also  upon  the  naval  officer  who  had  given  the  pass,  on  the 
12th  of  January,  and  compelling  them  to  appear  on  the  Common,  forced 
them  to  swear  before  a  crowd  of  eight  thousand  people,  that  the  passes 
which  they  had  signed  and  delivered  were  not  stamped  to  their  knowl- 
edge. Not  satisfied,  however,  with  this  declaration,  the  committee  con- 
ducted them  to  the  coffee-house,  before  which  a  bonfire  had  been  kindled, 
and  obliged  Pintard  to  commit  the  passes  to  the  flames  with  his  own 
hands.  On  the  following  day.  Governor  Moore,  who,  being  of  a  timid 
and  amiable  nature,  had  a  dread  of  becoming  unpopular,  sent  for  one  of 
the  committee,  and  said,  in  the  course  of  the  conversation,  that  he  hoped 
the  "gentlemen,  his  associates,"  did  not  suspect  him  of  being  cognizant 
of  the  mediterranean  passes.  Upon  being  informed  that  they  did  not* 
the  Governor  further  stated,  that  he  had  solicited  this  interview  to  assure 
the  Sons  of  Liberty,  that  not  only  was  he  ignorant  of  that  transaction, 
but  that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  any  stamps  whatever. 

Alarmed  at  the  rapid  growth  of  republican  principles  in  America, 
the  seeds  of  which  had  been  sown  by  its  own  folly,  Parliament,  on  the 
18th  of  March,  repealed  the  obnoxious  Act.  The  British  Legislature, 
however,  yielded  not  with  a  good  grace.  "  The  colonists,"  wrote  Sir 
William  Baker  to  the  Baronet,  "  must  not  think  that  these  lenient 
methods  were  brought  about  by  the  inducements  of  their  violence."* 
Pearing,  therefore,  that  their  action  would  be  misconstrued,  Parliament 
hastened,  almost  simultaneously  with  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  to  pass 
a  bill,  declaring  the  absolute  right  the  King  and  Parliament  "^o  hind  the 
colonies  and  people  of  America^  subjects  of  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  in  all  cases 
whatsoever^ 

In  the  first  delirium  of  delight  at  the  repeal,  the  news  of  which  was 

*  "  I  hope  the  hist  session  of  Parliament  has  conciUated  the  North  Americans  to 
their  mother  country  ;  hut  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  expected  from  them  obedience 
to  the  laws  of  this  government.  The  colonists  must  not  think  these  lenient  methods 
made  use  of  by  that  administration  were  broug-ht  about  by  the  inducement  of  their 
violence  ;  but  was  really  the  effect  of  conviction  that  the  rash  act  past  the  two  pre- 
ceding sessions  was  unwarrantable  and  oppressive." — M.  8. ;  Sir  WUliam  Baker  to 
Johnson,  Nov.  7th,  17(iG. 


125 

communicated  to  the  colonists  by  their  agents,  on  the  16th  of  May, 
the  tendency  of  tlie  Declaratory  Act  was  not  heeded.  In  New  York  City, 
especially,  the  populace  seemed  wild  with  joy.  Bells  were  rung,  a  royal 
salute  of  twenty-one  guns  fired,  and  the  city  illuminated.  On  the  4th 
of  June,  the  King's  birthday,  the  Governor  had  an  ox  roasted  whole,  a 
hogshead  of  rum  and  twenty-five  barrels  of  beer  opened,  and  the  people 
invited  to  join  in  the  feast.  On  the  same  day  a  mast  was  erected, 
inscribed  "  To  his  most  Gracious  Majesty,  George  the  Third,  Mr.  Pitt, 
and  Liberty."  But  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  did  not  end  here.  On 
the  23d  of  June  a  meeting  was  held,  at  which  a  petition  was  signed 
by  a  majority  of  the  citizens,  requesting  the  Assembly  to  erect  a  statue 
to  William  Pitt,  as  a  mark  of  their  appreciation  of  his  services  in 
repealing  the  Stamp  Act.  That  body  entered  fully  into  the  feelings  of  the 
people ;  and  besides  complying  with  the  wishes  of  their  constituents,  in 
relation  to  Pitt,  they  made  provision  for  an  equestrian  statue  to  his 
Majesty,  George  the  Third ;  and  also  voted  their  thanks,  and  a  piece  of 
plate,  to  John  Sargeant,  "  for  his  services  as  special  agent,"  during  the 
Stamp  Act  controversy. 

The  opening  speech  of  Governor  Moore  to  the  Assembly,  on  the 
12th  of  June,  began  by  adverting  to  the  general  satisfaction  diffused 
among  the  people  by  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  It  was  the  impression 
made  on  the  minds  of  the  people  by  this  act  of  his  Majesty's  favor,  that 
had  induced  the  Governor,  so  early,  to  call  the  Legislature,  in  order  to 
give  them  the  earliest  opportunity  of  making  those  acknowledgments  of 
duty  and  submission,  which,  on  such  an  occasion,  his  Excellency  thought 
must  arise  in  the  bosom  of  every  individual.  It  then  spoke  of  the 
impositions  upon  the  credulity  of  the  people  by  the  misrepresentations  of 
artful  and  designing  men.  "  Let  it  be  your  concern,"  it  continued,  "to 
undeceive  the  deluded,  and  by  your  example,  bring  back  to  a  sense  of 
their  duty,  those  who  have  been  misled,  that  nothing  which  can  carry  with 
it  the  least  resemblance  ol  former  heat  and  prejudice  may  be  suffered  to 
prevail,  and  the  minds  of  those  who  are  too  easily  agitated  be  again  dis- 
posed too  a  cheerful  obedience  to  the  laws,  and  to  sentiments  of  respect- 
ful gratitude  to  the  mother  country."  Their  attention  was  next  directed 
to  the  care  of  those  unfortunate  persons  who  had  suffered  from  the 
'  licentiousness  of  the  populace  for  their  deference  to  the  British  Legisla- 
ture," and  they  were  requested  to  make  full  and  ample  compensation  for  the 
goods  and  effects  of  the  sufferers,  that  had  been  destroyed.  This  latter 
suggestion  was  owing  to  circular  letters  from  the  Minister  to  the  provin- 
cial Governors,  requesting  the  colonial  Assemblies  to  show  their  "  respect- 
ful gratitude  for  the  forbearance  of  Parliament,"  by  indemnifying  those 
who  had  suffered  injury  in  attempting  to  execute  the  late  Act.  In  con- 
nection with  the  opening  speech,  petitions  were  handed  in  by  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Golden  and  Major  James,  praying  the  Assembly  to  make  good 


126 

their  losses  by  the  recent  riots.  These  petitions  were  thereupon  referred 
to  a  committee  of  the  whole  House,  who  reported  favorably  upon  the 
claims  of  Major  James,  but  passed  over  in  silence  thosiB  of  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor — very  much  to  the  chagrin  of  the  latter,  who  forthwith  wrote 
a  letter  to  Conway,  begging  him  to  lay  his  case  before  the  King,  that  his 
losses  might  be  recompensed  by  a  pension. 

The  Governor  now  ventured  again  to  request  of  the  Assembly  its 
compliance  with  the  demands  of  the  Ministry  in  relation  to  the  quartering 
of  troops,  a  large  body  of  whom  was  shortly  expected  from  England. 
But,  although  the  House  had  joined  with  the  Council  in  an  humble 
address  to  the  King,  thanking  him  for  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  and 
although,  moreover,  it  was  perfectly  willing  to  vote  statues  to  his  Majesty 
and  William  Pitt,  it  was  no  more  disposed  to  comply  with  this  demand, 
now  that  Parliament  had  yielded  to  its  wishes,  than  it  was  at  the  pre- 
vious session,  when  the  Stamp  Act  was  in  full  force.  The  House  accord- 
ingly voted  a  series  of  resolutions  similiar  in  tone  to  those  passed  Novem- 
ber, 1765,  and  postponed  further  discussion  on  the  subject  until  the 
troops  had  arrived.  A  second  message,  however,  from  Sir  Henry  Moore, 
induced  it  to  alter  its  determination  so  far,  as  to  state  that  the  appropria- 
tions of  1762  were  at  his  disposal,  and  might  be  applied  towards  providing 
barracks,  fire-wood,  and  candles  for  two  battalions  and  one  company  of 
artillery  for  one  year.  Beyond  this,  however,  it  would  not  go ;  and  the 
Governor,  while  he  was  obliged  to  be  content  with  this  decision,  wrote  at 
the  same  time  to  the  Lords  of  Trade,  that  its  partial  compliance  was  more 
the  result  of  compulsion,  than  of  gratitude  for  recent  favors ;  and  that,  in 
his  opinion,  every  act  of  Parliament,  unless  backed  by  a  sufficient  power 
to  enforce  it,  would  meet  with  the  same  fate. 

Meanwhile,  troubles  had  arisen  in  Dutchess  County,  which, 
although  in  no  way  connected  with  the  issues  between  the  colonies  and  the 
mother  country,  at  first  threatened  serious  consequences.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  1766,  the  Stockbridge  Indians,  feeling  aggrieved  by  the  intrusions, 
as  they  claimed,  of  some  of  the  people  of  Dutchess  upon  their  lands, 
broke  into  the  houses  of  the  alleged  trespassers,  and  turned  their  fami- 
lies out  of  doors.  As  is  generally  tlie  case  on  such  occasions,  several 
of  the  vagabond  class  of  whites,  very  ready  for  a  fray,  joined  the  rioters, 
and  committed  acts  of  violence  throughout  the  country.  The  excitement 
now  extended  into  Albany  County ;  and  the  mob,  now  grown  to  formida- 
ble dimensions,  threatened  to  attack  New  York  City,  and,  indeed,  actually 
began  their  march  thither.  In  this  exigency.  General  Gage  (at  that  time 
Commander-in-Chief  of  his  Majesty's  troops  in  America)  ordered  up,  to 
meet  the  insurgents,  the  Twenty-eighth  Eegiment,  which  had  just  arrived 
from  England.  The  appearance  of  the  troops  soon  brought  the  rioters 
to  reason;  and  having  succeeded — though  not  without  bloodshed — in 
restoring  order,  they  returned  to  New  York  with  the  chief  ringleaders 
of  the  rebellion. 


127 

The  joyous  feelings,  which  had  followed  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
was  of  not  long  continuance.  Hardly  had  the  first  gratulations  of  vic- 
tory passed,  and  sober  reflection  taken  its  place,  when  the  Declaratory 
Act,  in  all  its  ominous  proportions,  loomed  up,  overshadowing  the  public 
mind  with  gloomy  forebodings.  The  persistent  attempt,  moreover,  to 
force  the  province  into  a  compliance  with  the  Mutiny  Act — an  act, 
which,  to  thinking  men,  seemed  intended  to  provide  the  nucleus  of  a 
standing  army — alarmed  all  classes  ;  and  secret  leagues  were  at  once 
formed  in  most  of  the  colonies,  the  object  of  which  was  to  further  union  of 
council  in  resisting  oppression.  The  partial  compliance  of  the  Assembly 
to  the  requisition  of  the  Governor  for  quarters,  had  been  exceedingly 
distasteful  to  ihe  Sons  of  Liberty,  who,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  troops, 
made  no  disguise  of  their  feelings.  Mutual  animosities  accordingly  arose 
between  the  citizens  and  soldiery,  which  soon  culminated  in  open  acts  of 
hostility.  On  the  10th  of  August,  1766,  some  of  the  troops,  exasperated 
at  the  people,  to  whose  influence  they  attributed  the  action  of  the  Assem- 
bly in  depriving  them  of  liquor,  cut  down  the  flag-staff,  which,  with  so 
much  apparent  unanimity,  had  been  dedicated  to  "  Pitt  and  Liberty." 
The  following  evening,  while  the  citizens  were  preparing  to  re-erect  the 
pole,  they  were  assaulted  by  the  soldiers  with  drawn  bayonets,  and  sev- 
eral of  them,  among  whom  was  Isaac  Sears,  were  wounded.  Governor 
Moore,  who  heartly  wished  the  troops  away,  attempted,  with  General 
Gage,  to  restrain  these  outrages,  and,  to  some  extent,  succeeded  ;  but  the 
ofiicers,  intent  upon  gratifying  their  private  malice,  winked  at  the  con- 
duct of  their  men,  who,  thus  encouraged,  became  more  violent  than  ever. 
Several  dwellings  of  the  poorer  class,  situated  in  the  suburbs  of  the 
city  were  broken  into  on  the  23d  of  October  ;  and,  on  he  od  day  of 
November,  the  domestic  sanctuary  of  an  honest  drayman  was.  entered 
by  a  soldier,  who,  while  he  wounded  its  occupant,  hesitated  not  to  ham- 
string his  horse,  upon  which  he  relied  for  his  daily  bread. 

These  licentious  proceedings  were  not  calculated  to  dispose  the 
Assembly  any  more  favorably  to  the  attempt  to  quarter  the  oboxious  red- 
coats at  their  expense.  Accordingly,  when,  on  the  17th  of  November, 
Governor  Moore  laid  before  that  body  instructions  from  the  Minister, 
informing  them  of  the  King's  displeasure  at  their  conduct ;  their  absolute 
duty  to  obey  the  Acts  of  Parliament ;  and  of  his  wish  that  provision  for 
the  troops  should  be  immediately  made,  they  refused  outright  to  make 
further  provision,  choosing  to  interpret  the  Act  as  referring  solely  "to 
soldiers  on  the  march."  On  this  refusal,  Governor  Moore  waited  upon  the 
House,  and  endeavored  to  prevail  upon  them  to  alter  their  determination. 
His  efforts,  however,  were  unavailing ;  and  having,  by  the  defiant  attitude 
thus  assumed,  no  other  alternative  left,  he  prorogued  the  Assembly  on  the 
19th  of  December. 

Already  the  British  Cabinet  regretted  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act ; 


128 

and  the  project  of  taxing  America  was  again  resumed.  The  extravagant 
demonstrations  of  delight,  manifested  by  the  colonists  at  the  repeal,  had 
been  regarded  by  British  statesmen  with  ill-concealed  disgust ;  and  when, 
in  May,  1767,  the  news  was  received  that  Georgia,  following  the  example 
of  New  York,  had  also  declined  obedience  to  the  Mutiny  Act,  the  chagrin 
at  having  yielded  became  open  and  undisguised.  Accordingly,  in  the 
same  month,  Tounshend  introduced  a  bill  into  the  House  of  Commons, 
imposing  a  duty  on  all  paper,  glass,  tea,  and  painters'  colors  imported  into 
the  colonies.  In  its  passage  through  Parliament  the  bill  met  with 
scarcely  any  opposition,  and  on  the  28th  of  June  it  received  the  cordial 
assent  and  signature  of  the  King.  This  was  shortly  followed  by  another, 
"  to  establish  Commissioners  of  Customs  in  America,"  and  also  by  one 
"  to  compensate  the  stamp  officers  who  had  been  deprived  by  the  people." 
But  by  far  the  most  important  in  its  consequences  was  another,  which 
received  the  royal  assent  on  the  29th,  and  which  declared  that  the  functions 
of  the  Assemhly  of  New  Yorh  were  henceforth  annulled — the  Governor  and 
Council  being  forbidden  to  give  their  assent  to  any  act  passed  by  that 
body,  *'  until  the  Mutiny  Act  was  unequivocally  acknowledged  and  sub- 
mitted to."  The  rebellious  people  of  the  colonies,  said  the  authors  of  this 
Act,  must  be  brought  to  unqualified  submission,  and  the  supremacy  of 
Parliament  be  maintained. 

This  latter  Act,  by  far  the  deadliest  blow  that  had  yet  been  struck  at 
their  liberties,  excited  the  utmost  consternation  throughout  the  American 
provinces.  It  was  at  once  seen  that  if  Parliament  could,  at  pleasure,  dis- 
franchise a  sister  colony,  the  same  fate  might,  at  any  time,  overtake  the 
others.  "This  Act,"  wrote  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  "hangs 
like  a  flaming  sword  over  our  heads,  and  requires,  by  all  means,  to  be 
removed."  The  citizens  of  Boston,  sympathizing  deeply  with  the  people 
of  New  York,  expressed,  in  no  measured  terms,  their  indignation  at  what 
they  styled  ministerial  tyranny.  Tyranny  it  indeed  was,  and  of  the  most 
inexcusable  kind,  inasmuch  as  it  was  not,  as  some  have  supposed,  a  tyranny 
into  which  the  British  Ministry  were  led  blindly,  or  through  ignorance 
of  the  consequences.  "It  is  strange,"  says  an  elegant  English 
writer,*  "  that  the  British  Goverment  should  not  have  been  apprehensive 
of  the  great  and  increasing  danger  in  which  its  colonial  dominion  was 
involved."  It  is  not,  however,  strange.  The  British  government  did  it 
with  open  eyes,  and  clearly  foresaw  the  results  toward  which  its  colonial 
policy  was  fast  tending ;  for  while,  in  the  spring  of  this  year,  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer  was  pushing  forward  his  schemes  of  taxation > 
General  Gage  was  putting  Fort  George,  Ticonderoga,  and  Crown  Point  on 
a  thorough  war  footing,  and  Carleton,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Canada, 
was  adding  new  defenses  to  Quebec.  "These  measures,"  wrote  the  latter  to 
the  Commander-in-Chief,  "  will, link  these  two  provinces — New  York  and 


*  Graham. 


129 

Quebec — so  strongly  together,  as  will  add  great  security  to  both,  and  will 
facilitate  the  transfer  of  ten  or  fifteen  thousand  men,  in  the  beginning  of 
a  war,  from  one  to  another,  as  circumstances  may  require  ;  "  and  in  the 
same  letter  the  writer  suggests  that  a  '*  place  of  arms  "  should  be  imme- 
diately established  in  New  York,  "  for,"  he  adds,  "  no  pains,  address,  nor 
expense  is  too  great,  that  will  give  security  to  the  King's  magazines ; 
divide  the  Northern  and  Southern  colonies ;  and  afford  an  opportunity  of 
transporting  our  forces  into  any  part  of  the  continent." 

The  Assembly  having  expired  by  its  septennial  limitation  on  the  6th 
of  February,  1768,  writs  were  issued  for  a  new  election,  returnable  on 
the  22d  of  the  following  month.  Owing,  however,  to  the  Governor  having 
no  special  business  to  lay  before  the  House,  the  new  Assembly  was  not 
convened  until  the  27th  of  October.  The  opening  speech  of  the  Governor 
related  chiefly  to  the  Indian  trade,  which  his  Majesty  had  been  pleased 
henceforward  to  confide  to  the  colonies.  "  The  advantages,"  said  the 
Governor,  "^arising,  not  only  from  the  intercourse  of  trade  with  the 
Indians,  but  from  the  maintenance  of  that  tranquility  among  them  which 
subsists  at  present,  are  so  obvious,  as  to  require  no  arguments  to  enforce 
them.  I  shall,  therefore,  only  recommend  to  you,  that,  to  avoid  any 
future  cause  of  dissatisfaction  or  jealousy  being  given,  you  will,  by  the 
most  effectual  laws,  prevent  any  settlements  being  made  beyond  the  line 
which  shall  be  agreed  on  by  the  Indians."  In  their  reply,  on  the  3d  of 
November,  the  House  expressed  its  willingness  to  co-operate  with  the 
Governor  in  any  measures  for  the  better  regulation  of  the  Indian  trade  ; 
and,  indeed,  for  the  first  two  weeks  of  the  session,  nothing  occurred  to 
ruffle  the  general  harmony  of  its  proceedings.  The  critical  posture  of 
the  province  to  the  mother  country,  however,  forbade  that  this  state  of 
quiescence  should  be  lasting ;  and  it  was  not  long  before  a  direct  issue 
arose  between  the  Governor  and  his  Assembly. 

The  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  America  was  still  discussed  with 
great  freedom  in  all  the  colonies,  but  in  none  with  more  vigor  than  in 
Massachusetts.  In  February,  the  Assembly  of  that  province  had  addressed 
a  circular  letter,  drafted  by  Samuel  Adams,  to  her  sister  colonies,  in 
which  the  "  great  evils  to  which  the  inhabitants  of  America  were  sub- 
jected from  the  operation  of  several  acts  of  Parliament  imposing  taxes 
upon  them,"  were  set  forth,  and  their  co-operation  solicited  in  obtain- 
ing redress.  This  proceeding,  as  may  readily  be  imagined,  gave  great 
offense  to  the  Ministry ;  and  Lord  Hillsborough  forthwith  addressed  a 
letter  upon  the  subject  to  the  several  colonial  Governors,  requesting  that 
their  Assemblies  should  treat  the  circular  letter  with  silent  contempt. 
But  the  resentment  of  the  mother  country  toward  Massachusetts  was  not 
satisfied.  It  was  determined  to  still  further  disgrace  her,  by  detaching 
a  strong  military  force  to  occupy  her  capital.  The  rumor  that  such  a 
step  was  meditated  by  the  Crown  caused  considerable  comment,  and 
9 


130 

wiieii,  on  tlie  28tli  of  September,  two  British  regiments,  accompanied  by 
seven  men-of-war,  arrived  at  Boston  from  Halifax,  the  indignation,  not 
only  in  Massachusetts,  but  in  those  colonies  that  sympathized  with  her, 
became  intense.  In  Connecticut  numerous  town-meetings  were  held,  in 
which  it  was  resolved,  first,  "  to  seek  the  Lord,  by  general  fasting,  prayer, 
and  humiliation,  and  then  to  call  a  convention  of  ninety-two  persons  to 
determine  what  was  to  be  done  in  the  present  difficulties  and  distress." 
In  New  York  City,  especially,  the  Sons  of  Liberty  felt  deeply  the  indignity 
offered  to  their  sister  colony ;  and  in  their  first  ebullition  of  anger,  indig- 
nation meetings  were  held,  and  Governor  Bernard  and  his  Sheriff  burned 
in  effigy. 

Such  was  the  state  of  public  sentiment,  when,  on  the  1 4th  of  Novem- 
ber, Sir  Henry  Moore  laid  before  the  House  the  Earl  of  Hillsborough's 
letter,  forbidding  correspondence  with  Massachusetts,  and  called  upon  it 
to  render  a  cheerful  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  the  Secretary.  This  •action 
of  the  Governor  was  met  by  a  warm  remonstrance  from  the  Assembly ; 
and  when,  a  few  days  after,  the  former  threatened  to  dissolve  it  in  case 
of  its  not  complying,  it  unhesitatingly  refused  obedience.  The  bold  stand 
thus  assumed  was  warmly  seconded  by  public  opinion,  as  appears  con- 
spicuously in  the  newspapers  and  private  correspondence  of  the  day.  A 
series  of  articles,  which  had  recently  appeared  under  the  title  of  "  Letters 
from  a  Farmer  in  Pennsylvania  to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  British  Colonies," 
had  paved  the  way  for  a  fearless  utterance  against  ministerial  oppression. 
"Let  these  truths,''  said  the  leaders  of  the  people  in  New  York,  "be 
indelibly  impressed  upon  our  minds,  that  we  cannot  be  free  without 
being  secure  in  our  property ;  that  we  cannot  be  secure  in  our  property 
if,  without  our  consent,  others  may,  as  by  right,  take  it  away ;  that  taxes 
imposed  by  Parliament  do  thus  take  it  away  ;  that  duties,  laid  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  raising  money,  are  taxes ;  and  that  attempts  to  lay  such 
should  be  instantly  and  firmly  opposed." 

While,  however,  the  Assembly  were  thus  firm  in  maintaining  its 
constitutional  rights  and  privileges,  it  evinced  no  disposition  to  counte- 
nance acts  of  lawless  violence ;  and  in  reply  to  a  message  from  the 
Governor  on  the  23d,  asking  its  aid  in  bringing  to  punishment  the  ring- 
leaders in  a  recent  riot,  it  reported  a  series  of  resolutions  which  distinctly 
set  forth,  that  although  it  felt  deeply  the  course  of  Parliament  toward 
them,  yet,  so  far  from  approving  of  any  violent  proceedings,  it  would  on 
all  occasions  endeavor  to  support  the  dignity  and  authority  of  govern- 
ment. The  riot,  to  which  allusion  is  here  made,  had  occurred  on  the  14th 
of  November,  and  had  been  the  result  of  new  exactions,  by  way  of  imposts, 
of  the  Parliament  upon  the  colonies ;  and  while  the  reply  of  the  House, 
as  intimated,  strongly  censured  the  rioters,  yet  it  also  condemned  the  new 
duties  in  terms  equally  severe.  This  address  gave  little  satisfaction  to  the 
representative  of  the  Crown ;  and  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  it  was  fol- 


131 

lowed  by  a  series  of  strong  constitutional  resolutions,  among  which  was 
one  declaring  that  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  Committee  "  that  the  House 
had  an  undoubted  right  to  correspond  and  consult  with  any  of  the  neigh- 
boring colonies  on  any  matter,  subject,  or  thing  whatever,  whereby  they 
should  conceive  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  House  to  be  in  any  way 
affected." 

These  resolutions  gave  high  displeasure  ;  and  Sir  Henry  Moore, 
having  convened  the  Assembly  in  the  City  Hall  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
3d  of  January,  1769,  dissolved  it  by  a  speech  of  evident  irritation,  yet  of 
affected  regret  and  sorrow  at  the  occasion  demanding  the  summary 
measure.  Writs  for  a  new  election  were  immediately  issued,  returnable 
on  the  14th  of  February.  The  people,  however,  sustained  the  action  of 
their  representatives,  and  all  the  former  members,  with  the  exception  of 
six,  were  returned  by  overwhelming  majorities.  Such  was  the  result  of 
the  first  direct  appeal  of  the  Crown  to  the  people  on  the  subject  of  the 
great  constitutional  principles  of  liberty,  which  were  now  beginning  to 
agitate  the  pohtical  waters  to  their  deepest  fountains. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  fact  that  most  of  the  old  members 
were  returned,  the  election  was  hotly  contested.  "  I  hear,"  wrote  Sir 
William  Johnson,  jocularly,  to  a  friend  in  New  York,  "  that  you  are  likely 
to  have  a  hot  election,  and  probably  there  will  be  work  for  shillalahs." 
Nor  was  the  writer  far  out  in  his  conjecture.  At  no  time  for  many  years 
had  the  excitement  been  more  intense,  and  every  means  and  device  was 
made  use  of  to  secure  votes.  In  New  York  City,  especially,  the 
contest  was  between  the  church-party  and  the  dissenters* — the  for- 
mer being  led  by  the  De  Lanceys  and  the  latter  by  the  Livingstons. 
"  It  is  surprising,"  writes  Peter  Van  Schaak  to  his  brother  Henry,  under 
date  of  January  27,  1769,  "  what  trifles  can  be  turned  to  the  greatest 
advantage  in  elections  and  be  made  to  captivate  the  passions  of  the  vul- 
gar. A  straw,  a  fire-brand,  have  severally  answered  this  purpose  in  a 
recent  instance.  It  was  said  during  the  last  election,  that  T.  Smith  had 
said  that  the  Irish  were  poor  beggars,  and  had  come  over  here  upon  a 
bunch  of  straw.  The  whole  body  of  Irishmen  immediately  joined  and 
appeared  with  straws  in  their  hats.  Mr.  Kissam,  who  summed  up  the 
evidence  for  Mr.  Scott  in  the  late  charge  against  Mr.  Jauncey,  happened 
to  say  that  the  passions  of  the  Germans  were  fire-brands.  A  whole  con- 
gregation were,  in  consequence  of  that,  resolved  to  vote  with  them  in 
their  hands,  but  being  dissuaded,  they  however  distinguished  themselves 
by  the  name  of  the  lirehrands.     These  gentlemen  have  also  made  them- 


*  And  not  between  the  lawyers  and  the  merchants  as  such,  as  stated  by  Miss 
Booth.  This  writer  also  makes  the  prorogation  of  the  Assembly,  by  Governor  Moore, 
occur  in  1768,  a  year  previous.     This  is,  however,  probably  a  typographical  error. 


132 

selves  remarkable  by  a  song  in  the  German  language,  th.e  chorus  of  which 

is, 

**  Maester  Cruger,  De  Lancey, 
Maester  Walton  and  Jauncey." 

"  'Twas  droll  to  see  some  of  the  first  gentlemen  in  town  joining  in 
singing  these  songs,  while  they  conducted  the  members  to  the  CoS*ee- 
House."  "  I  arrived  here  St.  John's  day,"  writes  another  person  at  the 
same  time  from  New  York  to  a  friend,  "  when  there  was  a  grand  proces- 
sion of  the  whole  Masonic  fraternity,  and  a  very  excellent  sermon  preached 
by  Dr.  Auchmuthy,  at  Trinity  Church,  on  the  occasion.  At  the  same 
time  a  collection  was  made  for  the  city,  which  I  think  amounted  to  £200. 
Would  you  think  it,  but  it  is  true,  that  the  Presbyterians  immediately 
labored  to  convert  this  charitable  affair  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Church 
of  England  and  the  part  which  they  take  in  the  election  ensuing  ?  Will* 
Smith  and  W.  Livingston  got  an  old  rascally  sermon,  called  '  Masonky, 
THE  suKE  Guide  to  Hell,'  reprinted,  and  distributed  it  with  great  assi- 
duity, *  *  and  there  is  this  day  an  extraordinary  Lodge 
held  on  the  occasion  in  order  to  consult  means  to  resent  the  affront."  The 
church-party,  having  the  support  of  the  mercantile  and  Masonic  interests, 
was  triumphant,  and  John  Cruger,  James  De  Lancey,  Jacob  Walton,  and 
James  Jauncey,  were  elected  by  the  city. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1769,  the  new  Assembly  met.  John  Cruger 
was  immediately  chosen  Speaker,  and  it  was  not  long  before  another 
proof  was  afforded  of  the  strength  of  the  church-party  in  the  House. 
"  The  De  Lancey  interest,"  wrote  Hugh  Wallace,  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil, to  Sir  William  Johnson,  "  prevails  in  the  House  greatly,  and  they  have 
given  the  Livingston  interest  proof  of  it  by  dismissing  P.  Livingston  the 
House  as  a  non-resident."  The  Livingstons,  however,  were  not  entirely 
crushed,  for  the  same  writer  adds  :  "It  is  said  he  will  be  returned  again 
and  again,  and  so  become  another  Wilkes." 

The  opening  speech  of  Governor  Moore  contained  not  the  remotest 
reference  to  the  difficulties  which  had  caused  the  recent  dissolution,  but 
referred  only  to  the  manner  in  which  the  the  colony's  agent  in  London 
was  appointed,  a  mode  which  his  Excellency  thought  objectionable,  he 
being  of  the  opinion  that  the  appointment  of  an  agent  should 
be  made  by  an  act  of  the  Governor,  Council,  and  Assembly,  specially 
passed  for  that  purpose,  as  had  formerly  been  the  case.  The  change  in 
the  manner  of  appointing  the  colonial  agent  had  been  first  introduced 
during  the  administration  of  Governor  Clinton  in  1747,  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  Robert  Charles,  without  the  former's  privity  or  consent.  Clinton 
had  complained  bitterly  at  the  time  of  the  innovation,  but  without  effect ; 
it  was,  therefore,  not  likely  that  an  Assembly,  having  had  their  own  way 
in  this  matter  for  upward  of  twenty  years,  would  now  yield.  Accord- 
ingly, in  their  reply,  they  utterly  declined  adopting  the  mode  which  his 


i 


133 

Excellency  had  recommended.  This,  of  course,  gave  great  dissatisfaction 
to  the  Governor,  who  on  the  20th  of  May  prorogued  the  Assembly  to  the 
month  of  July ;  not,  however,  until  that  body  had  voted,  with  a  very  ill 
grace,  £1,800  for  the  support  of  his  Majesty's  troops  quartered  in  the 
colony. 

The  death  of  Sir  Henry  Moore  on  the  11th  of  September,  1769, 
threw  a  gloom  over  the  entire  city.  His  polished  manners,  courteous 
address,  and  genial  disposition  had  endeared  him  to  many  in  the  colony. 
Although  forced  oftentimes  as  the  representative  of  the  Crown  to  come 
in  collision  with  the  popular  sentiment,  yet  such  occasions  were  evidently 
so  distasteful  to  him  that  many  who  were  his  bitter  political  enemies 
regarde'd  him  with  cordial  good-will.  By  his  death  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment fell,  for  the  third  time,  into  the  hands  of  Doctor  Golden,  who,  as 
Lieutenant-Governor,  opened  the  fall  session  of  the  Assembly  on  the  22d 
of  November. 

Appearances  seemed  to  indicate  a  stormy  session.  Massachusetts 
had  just  passed  a  series  of  spirited  resolutions  against  the  military  and 
naval  force  stationed  at  her  capital.  The  Assembly  of  Virginia,  late  in 
the  spring,  had  been  dissolved  by  the  new  Governor,  Lord  Botetourt,  for 
its  presumption  in  sending  Massachusetts  words  of  encouragement  and 
support.  The  refusal,  moreover,  of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  March,  to 
receive  the  representative  of  the  New  York  Assembly,  had  excited  the 
apprehensions  of  those  of  the  colonists  who  had  hitherto  been  warmly 
attached  to  the  Crown.  "  I  must  confess,"  wrote  Sir  William  Johnson, 
in  September,  "  that  the  aspect  of  affairs  at  home  is  very  unpleasing,  and 
ought  to  give  concern  to  every  well-wisher  of  his  country,  because  what- 
ever reason  or  justice  there  may  be  in  the  late  steps,  there  is  a  probability 
of  their  being  carried  further  than  a  good  man  can  wish  for." 

Contrary,  however,  to  general  expectation,  during  the  fall  and  winter 
session,  there  were  no  collisions  between  the  Executive  and  the  Lesrisla- 
ture,  although  the  spirited  resolutions  of  Virginia,  of  the  preceding  May, 
were  unanimously  concurred  in.  On  the  first  day  of  the  session  a  bill 
was  introduced  for  emitting  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  pounds  in 
bills  of  credit,  to  be  put  out  on  loan,  as  a  means  of  revenue.  The  bill 
was  at  first  hailed  with  delight  by  the  leaders  of  the  popular  party,  who 
thought  they  discerned  in  it  a  desire,  on  the  part  of  the  Executive,  to 
gratify  the  wish  of  the  people.  When,  however,  it  was  followed  on  the 
15th  of  December,  by  a  motion  to  grant  two  thousand  pounds  for  the 
support  of  his  Majesty's  troops  in  the  colony,  which  sum  was  to  be  taken 
out  of  the  interest  arising  from  the  loan  bill  when  it  should  become  a  law, 
a  complete  revulsion  of  feehng  took  place ;  and  they  now  saw  only  an 
attempt,  on  the  part  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  to  compel  the  Assembly 
into  an  unconditional  submission  to  the  Mutiny  Act.  Accordingly,  the 
first  sight  that  greeted  the  citizens,  on  the  morning  of  the   17th,  was  a 


184 

flaming  placard  posted  up  in  the  most  conspicuous  portions  of  the  city, 
addressed,  "  To  the  Betrayed  Inhabitants  of  the  City  and  Colony  of 
New  York,"  and  signed  ''  A  Son  of  Libehty."  This  placard  declared 
that  the  granting  of  money  to  the  troops  was  implicitly  acknowledging 
the  authority  that  had  enacted  the  revenue  acts,  which  had  been  passed 
for  the  express  purpose  of  taking  money  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  colo- 
nisfcs  without  their  consent ;  that  what  made  the  granting  of  money  the 
more  grevous  was,  that  it  went  to  the  support  of  troops  kept,  not  to  pro- 
tect, but  to  enslave  them ;  that  this  was  the  view  taken  of  the  Mutiny 
Act  by  the  Assemblies  of  Massachusetts  and  South  Carolina — therefore, 
let  not  the  Assembly  of  New  York  tell  their  disgrace  in  Boston,  nor 
pubUsh  it  in  the  streets  of  Charleston !  The  Assembly,  moreover,  had 
not  been  attentive  to  the  liberties  of  this  continent,  nor  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  good  people  of  this  colony.  This  sacrifice  of  the  public  interest 
it  attributed  to  a  corrupt  source  which  it  scrupled  not  to  affirm,  in  plain 
words,  was  an  infamous  coalition  recently  entered  into  between  the  Execu- 
tive and  the  De  Lancey  family  for  this  very  object.  In  conclusion,  the 
placard  advised  all  the  people  to  assemble  the  following  day  in  "  the 
flelds  "  (the  Park),  there  to  express  their  sentiments  upon  a  point  so  vital 
to  colonial  liberty. 

The  large  concourse  of  people  gathered  in  ''the  fields"  at  the  time 
appointed,  clearly  showed  how  in  unison  with  the  public  feeling  were  the 
sentiments  uttered  in  the  placard  of  the  previous  day.     The  object  of 
the  gathering  was  set  forth  by  John  Lamb,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
of  the  Sons   of  Liberty,  and  the   question  asked,  whether  the  citizens 
would  uphold  the  recent  action  of  the  Assembly.    The  emphatic  ''  No  "  that 
at  once  arose  from  the  vast  throng  was  a  sufficient  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion ;  and  a  committee  of  seven  was  immediately  appointed  to  carry  this 
public  expression  of  feeling  to  the  Legislature.     But  however  much  that 
body  may  have  regretted  their  partial  committal  to  the  loan  bill,  they  did 
not  choose  to  be  dictated  to  by  a  meeting  which  they  considered  little 
better  than  a  mob.     Accordingly,  the  consideration  of  the  placard  having 
been  made  the  first  order  of  the  following  day,  James  De  Lancey  moved 
that  "  the  sense  of  the  House  should  be  taken  whether  the  said  paper  was 
not  an  infamous  and  scandalous  libel."     The  question  being  put,  all  the 
members  voted  in  the  affirmative,  except  Colonel  Schuyler,  who,  when  his 
name  was  called,  with  admirable  moral  courage,  fearlessly  answered  in 
the    negative.     A   series    of  resolutions  was   then  passed   condemning 
the  paper  as  false,  seditious,  and  infamous,  and  requesting  the  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor to  offer  a  reward  of  one  hundred  pounds  for  its  author  or 
authors.      Immediately  after  the  passage  of  these  resolutions,  Mr.  De 
Lancey  laid  before  the  House  another  hand-bill,  in  which  the  late  pro- 
ceedings   of    that  body  were   strongly  condemned,     signed    "  Legion." 
Besolves  were  at  once  passed,  similar  in  tone  to  those  just  noticed,  and 
an  additional  reward  of  fifty  pounds  ofi'ered  for  the  writer  of  this  also. 


135 

Nothing  worthy  of  special  mention  occurred  during  the  remainder  of 
this  session.  John  Lamb,  it  is  true,  three  days  after  the  passage  of 
the  resolutions,  was  arraigned  before  the  House  on  suspicion  of  being 
the  author  of  the  libelous  hand-bill ;  but  nothing  being  proved  against 
him  he  was  immediately  discharged.  The  General  Assembly  having 
now  been  convened  more  than  two  months,  and  its  members  being  now 
anxious  to  return  to  their  homes,  Lieutenant-Governor  Golden  signed 
several  acts  among  them  one  for  appointing  commissioners  from  the 
neighboring  colonies  to  agree  upon  a  plan  for  regulating  the  Indian 
trade,  and  on  the  27th  of  January,  1770,  prorogued  it  to  the  second  Tues- 
day in  March,  and  from  time  to  time  afterward  to  the  11th  of  December. 

Meanwhile,  the  hatred  between  the  soldiers  and  the  Sons  of  Liberty 
daily  gained  strength.  The  former  had  long  writhed  under  the  undis- 
guised disgust  with  which  they  were  treated  by  the  latter,  and  only  waited 
for  an  opportunity  to  repay  this  scorn  with  interest.  Hitherto,  they  had 
been  restrained  through  motives  of  policy  ;  and  now  that  the  supplies 
were  granted,  they  threw  off  all  restraint,  and  resolved  to  insult  their 
enemies  in  the  most  tender  spot.  Accordingly,  on  the  13th  of  January,  a 
portion  of  the  Sixteenth  Eegiment  attempted  to  destroy  the  liberty-pole, 
by  sawing  of  its  spars  and  blowing  it  up  with  gunpowder.  A  knot  of 
citizens  having  gathered  round  while  they  were  thus  engaged,  they 
desisted  for  the  present  from  the  attempt,  and  charging  upon  the  group 
with  fixed  bayonets,  drove  them  into  a  tavern,  kept  by  Montagnie,  and  a 
favorite  resort  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  broke  the  windows,  and  demolished 
a  portion  of  the  furniture.  Three  days  afterward,  however,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  their  design,  and  having,  on  the  night  of  the  16th,  cut  the 
obnoxious  symbol  in  pieces,  piled  its  fragments  in  front  of  Montagnie's 
door.  Incensed  at  this  daring  insult,  three  thousand  citizens  assembled 
early  the  following  morning  at  the  scene  of  the  outrage,  and  adopted, 
among  others,  a  resolution  that  all  soldiers  found  in  the  streets  after  roll- 
call,  "  should  be  treated  as  enemies  to  the  peace  of  the  city ; "  mutually 
pledging  themselves  to  see  that  this  resolve  was  vigorously  enforced. 
Early  the  next  morning  insulting  placards  were  found  posted  up  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  city,  ridiculing  the  resolutions  of  the  previous  day,  and 
daring  the  citizens  to  carry  them  into  execution.  In  the  course  of  the 
day  three  soldiers  were  discovered  by  Sears  and  others  in  the  act  of  post- 
ing up  more  of  these  hand-bills ;  and  a  skirmish  ensuing,  the  citizens 
having  obtained  the  upper  hand.  Were  conducting  the  offenders  to  the 
office  of  the  Mayor,  when  they  were  met  by  a  band  of  twenty  additional 
troops.  A  gefieral  fight  with  cutlasses  and  clubs  now  followed,  the 
military  slowly  retreating  to  Golden  Hill.*  At  this  point  they  were  met 
by  a  party  of  officers,  who  immediately  ordered  their  men  to  the  barracks, 

*  John  street,  between  Cliff  street  and  Burling-  Slip. 


136 

and  the  riot  was  quelled.  In  this  brush,  several  citizens  were  wounded 
and  one  killed,  although  the  soldiers  were  generally  worsted.  The  fol- 
lowing day  witnessed  a  number  of  frays,  none  of  which,  however,  were 
attended  with  loss  of  life ;  and  on  the  20th,  the  Mayor  having  issued  a 
proclamation  forbidding  the  soldiers  to  come  out  of  the  barracks  unless 
accompanied  by  a  non-commissioned  officer,  the  excitement  was  quieted 
and  order  once  more  restored.*  On  the  5th  ol  February  another  pole 
was  erected,  inscribed  "  Liberty  and  Property,"  on  ground  purchased  for 
the  purpose,  where  it  remained  until  cut  down  in  1776,  by  the  British 
soldiery,  at  that  time  occupying  the  city. 

Meanwhile  the  Sons  of  Liberty  were  undaunted.  In  February,  one 
hundred  of  them  purchased  of  Colonel  Morris  a  house  for  six  hundred 
pounds — each  of  them  contributing  six  pounds — in  which  to  celebrate  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act ;  and  having,  on  the  19th  of  March,  drank  forty- 
five  popular  toasts,  they  proceeded  to  the  jail  where  Captain  McDougall 
was  confined  for  being  the  author  of  the  Hbelous  hand-bill  of  the  pre- 
vious December,  saluted  him  with  forty-five  cheers,  and  quietly  dispersed. 

In  Boston  the  feeling  between  the  citizens  and  soldiery  was  even 
more  embittered.  The  news  of  the  recent  occurrences  in  New  York  was 
not  calculated  to  sooth  this  mutual  animosity ;  and  when,  on  the  2d  of 
March,  an  affray  took  plack  at  Gray's  rope- walk,  between  a  citizen  and  a 
soldier,  in  which  the  latter  was  worsted,  it  required  but  a  small  degree  of 
forecast  to  anticipate  an  approaching  explosion.  Three  days  afterward, 
on  the  evening  of  the  5th,  a  sentinel,  who  had  wantonly  abused  a  lad,  was 
surrounded  in  King  street  by  a  mob  of  boys,  and  pelted  with  snow-balls^ 
made  of  the  lightsnowthat  had  just  fallen.  "They  are  killing  the  sentinel!" 
shouted  a  bystander  to  the  main  guard.  Instantly  a  file  of  six  soldiers,  headed 
by  a  corporal  and  followed  by  Preston,  the  officer  of  the  day,  rushed  to 
the  rescue,  at  a  double-quick  step,  with  fixed  bayonets.  A  crowd  gathered 
round,  and  the  musket  of  a  soldier  being  hit  by  a  stick  thrown  from  the 
throng,  Preston  gave  the  order  to  fire.  Montgomery,  the  man  whose  mus- 
ket had  been  hit,  immediately  fired,  and  Attucks,  a  mulatto,  who  had  been 
quietly  looking  on,  fell  dead  on  the  spot.  Six  others,  thereupon,  taking 
deliberate  aim,  fired  in  succession  at  the  crowd,  who  were  already  begin- 


*  "  We  are  all  in  confusion  in  this  city  ;  the  soldiers  have  cut  and  blowed  up 
the  Liberty  Pole,  and  have  caused  much  trouble  between  the  inhabitants.  On 
Friday  last,  between  Burling  Slip  and  Fly  Market,  was  an  engagement  between  the 
inhabitants  and  the  soldiers,  when  much  blood  was  spilt ;  one  sailor  got  run  through 
the  body,  who  since  died  ;  one  man  got  his  skull  cut  in  the  most  cruel  manner.  On 
Saturday  the  Hall-bell  rang  for  an  alarm,  when  was  another  battle  between  the 
inhabitants  and  soldiers ;  but  the  soldiers  met  with  rubbers,  the  chiefest  part  being 
sailors  with  clubs  to  revenge  the  death  of  their  brother,  which  they  did  with  courage, 
and  made  them  all  run  to  their  barracks.  What  will  be  the  end  of  this,  God 
knows." — Letter  from  "  Neic  York,  Jan.  23d,  1770,"  in  St.  James  Chronicle,  or  the 
British  Evening  Post,  March  15th,  1770. 


137 

ning  to  disperse.  Three  of  the  citizens,  including  the  mulatto,  were 
instantly  killed,  and  of  eight  others  who  were  wounded,  two  died  shortly 
afterward  from  their  injuries. 

It  has  usually  been  asserted  by  historians,  that  the  first  blood  in  the 
war  of  the  American  Revolution  was  shed  at  Lexington  ;  but  such  is  not 
the  fact.  The  Battle  o^  Golden  Hill,  on  the  18th  of  January,  1770,  was 
the  beginning  of  that  contest,  so  fearful  in  its  commencement,  so  doubt- 
ful in  its  progress,  and  so  splendid  in  its  results.  The  storm  had  now 
been  gathering  for  several  years,  and  the  public  mind  had  become  exceed- 
ingly feverish,  not  only  in  respect  to  the  conduct  of  the  parent  govern- 
ment, but  in  regard  to  the  language  and  bearing  of  the  officers  of  the 
Crown  stationed  in  the  colonies.  The  destruction  of  the  Liberty  Pole 
increased  the  mutual  exasperation  ;  and  the  fight  that  followed  was  but  the 
natural  consequence.  To  the  City  of  New  Yoek,  therefore,  must  ever  be 
given  the  honor  of  driUng  the  first  Mow.  The  town  was  thrown  into  com- 
motion, the  bells  rang,  and  the  news,  with  the  exaggerations  and  embel- 
lishments incident  to  all  occasions  of  alarm,  spread  through  the  country 
with  the  rapidity  of  lightning.  Everywhere,  throughout  the  wide  extent 
of  the  old  thirteen  colonies,  it  created  a  strong  sensation,  and  was  received 
with  a  degree  of  indignant  emotion,  which  very  clearly  foretold  that  blood 
had  only  commenced  flowing.  The  massacre  in  King  street,  two  months 
later,  added  intensity  to  the  flame  ;  and  although  five  years  intervened  be- 
fore the  demonstration  at  Lexington,  there  were  too  many  nervous  pens 
and  eloquent  tongues  in  exercise  to  allow  these  feelings  to  subside,  or  the 
noble  spirit  of  liberty  that  had  been  awakened  to  be  quenched.  "  Such 
stirring  orations  as  those  of  Joseph  Warren  were  not  uttered  in  vain ; 
and  often  were  the  people  reminded  by  him,  or  by  his  compatriots  of 
kindred  spirit — '  The  voice  of  your  brethren's  blood  cries  to  you  from  the 
ground ! '  The  admonition  had  its  effect,  and  the  resolutions  of  ven- 
geance sank  deeper  and  deeper,  until  the  fullness  of  time  should  come  I  " 

On  the  18th  of  October,  1770,  John,  Earl  of  Dunmore,  arrived  in 
New  York  to  occupy  the  gubernatorial  chair,  left  vacant  by  the  lamented 
Sir  Henry  Moore.  The  new  Governor  is  described,  in  a  letter  to  Sir 
William  Johnson,  as  "  a  very  active  man,  fond  of  walking  and  riding,  and 
a  sportsman."  This  description  affords  a  clue  to  the  character  of  the  man 
— easy  in  his  disposition,  and  one  who  preferred  the  delights  of  the  chase 
to  controversies  with  his  Legislature.  There  was  little  likelihood,  however 
of  his  being  troubled  with  a  body  that  had  of  late  grown  very  subservient. 
The  news,  moreover,  which  he  brought  with  him  of  his  Majesty's  con- 
sent to  the  bill  authorizing  the  emission  of  a  colonial  currency,  increased 
the  spirit  of  loyalty;  and  when,  in  his  opening  speech  on  the  11th  of 
December,  he  expressed  his  pleasure  that  the  example  of  the  loyal  sub- 
jects of  the  province  had  been  the  means  of  restoring  friendly  feelings  and 
confidence  between  the  parent  country  and  the  colonists,  the  address  of  the 


138 

Assembly,  in  reply,  was  a  simple  echo.  During  the  entire  session,  there- 
fore, the  wheels  of  government  rolled  smoothly  ;  and  at  its  close,  on  the 
16th  of  February,  1771,  the  loan  bill  was  passed,  as  was  also  the  one 
for  appropriating  two  thousand  pounds  for  the  support  of  the  troops. 
The  Crown  had  seemingly  triumphed  ;  but  the  end  was  not  yet. 

On  the  8th  of  July,  1771,  Sir  William  Tryon,  Bart.,  having  rendered 
himself  odious  to  the  people  of  North  Carolina  by  his  petty  tyranny, 
arrived  in  New  York,  bearing  his  Majesty's  commission  as  Governor  and 
Commander-in-Chief,  in  the  place  of  Lord  Dunmore,  who  was  transferred 
to  the  Government  of  Virginia. 

The  General  Assembly,  which  had  been  prorogued  to  the  7th  day  of 
August,  1771,  was  now  further  prorogued  from  time  to  time  to  the  7th 
of  January,  1772,  when  it  again  met,  and  on  the  8th,  the  session  was 
opened  for  business  by  a  speech  from  the  new  Governor,  of  a  mild  and 
conciliatory  character.  His  arrival  had  been  greeted  by  affectionate 
addresses  of  congratulation,  to  which  he  referred  witl^  apparent  warmth. 
His  recent  cruel  conduct  in  North  Carolina  was  then  justified  as  a  merito- 
rious effort  to  preserve  the  constitution  and  the  laws ;  and  in  seeming 
mockery,  his  late  wonderful  achievement  in  that  province — of  dispersing 
with  over  one  thousand  armed  troops  an  unarmed  and  inoffensive  crowd — 
was  attributed  to  the  special  favor  of  a  kind  Providence.  The  necessity 
of  passing  a  good  militia  bill  was  then  pointed  out ;  and  the  thorough 
repairing  of  the  fortifications  of  the  city,  which  had  become  greatly  injured 
by  the  weather,  was  also  recommended  as  worthy  of  immediate  attention. 
"Influenced  only,"  he  added,  with  consummate  flattery,  " by  principles 
that  flow  from  an  honest  heart,  I  feel  an  ardent  desire  to  co-operate  with 
you  in  every  measure  that  will  best  promote  the  honor  and  dignity  of  his 
Majesty's  government,  and  advance  the  real  felicity  of  a  people  eminently 
distinguished  by  their  loyalty  to  the  best  of  sovereigns,  and  affectionate 
disposition  to  their  mother  country."  The  address  sent  in  to  the  Governor 
by  the  House,  on  the  17th,  was  conceived  in  the  same  spirit  that  dictated 
the  opening  speech.  It  accorded  high  praise  to  the  brief  administration 
of  the  Earl  of  Dunmore,  for  its  equity,  impartiality,  and  disinterestedness; 
and  expressed  strong  confidence  in  the  wisdom  which  was  to  mark  that 
of  his  Lordship's  immediate  successor,  as  shown  more  particularly  in  his 
beneficent  administration  of  his  former  government ! 

Indeed,  it  seemed  as  if  in  this  address  the  last  lingering  embers  of 
resistance  to  ministerial  tyranny  in  the  Colony  of  New  York  had  expired. 
A  few  staunch  patriots,  such  as  Philip  Schuyler,  it  is  true,  still  remained 
in  the  Assembly,  but  their  voices  were  powerless  to  turn  back  the  tide 
which  now  rolled  in  from  the  ocean  of  ministerial  patronage.  William 
Tryon,  a  man  fully  as  subservient  as  Hutchinson,  without  his  ability, 
backed  by  the  Upper  House,  and  rendered,  moreover,  independent  of  the 
colony  by  a  recent  order  of  the  Crown  that  his  salary  should  hereafter 


139 

be  paid  from  the  rev'enue  chest,  was  well  fitted  for  the  purpose  for  which 
he  had  been  transferred  to  the  chair  lately  occupied  by  the  mild  but 
passive  and  inefficient  Dunmore.  Indeed,  if  anything  was  wanting  to 
show  the  subserviency  of  the  present  Assembly,  it  was  supplied  by  the 
utter  indifference  with  which  this  attempt  to  render  the  Executive 
independent  of  the  people  was  received.  In  former  Assemblies,  such 
an  announcement  would  have  been  met  with  an  outburst  of  indig- 
nation before  which  no  Governor  could  have  stood ;  but  now  a 
message,  from  Tryon  in  February,  refusing  to  receive  a  salary  from 
the  people,  produced  not  a  word  of  comment,  and  the  removal  of  this 
strong  bulwark  of  their  liberties  was  quietly  acquiesced  in.  Far  differ- 
ent, however,  was  the  action  of  the  Assemblies  of  Massachusetts  and  the 
other  colonies,  to  whom  the  ministerial  instruction  in  relation  to  salaries 
also  extended.  In  the  former  body,  especially,  the  recent  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment was  boldly  denounced ;  other  colonial  Legislatures  did  the  same. 
New  York  was  silent.  True  men  looked  on  in  amazement,  and  in  anxious 
expectation  strained  their  eyes  for  the  first  rays  of  the  day-star  of  hope. 

But  while  the  representatives  of  the  people  were  thus  unmindful  of 
their  liberties,  they  were  more  attentive  to  the  local  interests  of  the 
colony.  At  the  close  of  the  present  session  many  praiseworthy  acts  were 
passed ;  and  among  them  one  for  founding  the  present  New  York  Hos- 
pital, and  another  for  dividing  Albany  County  into  three  counties,  Albany, 
Tryon,  and  Charlotte. 

Meanwhile,  blind  to  their  own  interests,  the  Ministry  thought  only 
of  reducing  their  "  rebellious  subjects"  into  submission.  Mortified  and 
exasperated  at  the  signal  failure  to  foist  the  Stamp  Act  upon  the  colo- 
nists, they  were  ready  to  embrace  any  scheme  which  promised  to  soothe 
their  wounded  pride.  An  opportunity  for  doing  this  soon  came.  The 
East  India  Company  were  now  suffering  severely  from  the  effect  of  the 
non-importation  agreements.  Unable  to  make  their  annual  payments  to 
the  Government  of  £1,400,000,  they  found  themselves  in  the  spring  of  1773, 
with  17,000,000  chests  of  tea  on  their  hands,  on  the  very  verge  of  bank- 
ruptcy. In  this  state  of  affairs,  the  Company  in  April  petitioned  Parha- 
ment  for  permission  to  export  their  teas  to  America,  and  other  countries, 
free  of  duty.  This  request,  however,  the  Ministry,  jealous  of  relinquish- 
ing in  the  least  their  right  to  tax  the  colonies,  would  not  grant,  but,  by  a 
special  Act  of  ParHament  passed  on  the  10th  of  June,  allowed  the  Com- 
pany to  ship  their  tea  to  America  free  of  any  export  duty — thus  putting 
it  in  the  power  of  the  Company  to  sell  their  tea  at  a  lower  price  in 
America  than  in  England.  No  Act  that  the  home  government  had  hith- 
erto passed,  showed  more  plainly  its  utter  inabihty  to  comprehend '  the 
great  principle  for  which  the  colonists  were  contending,  than  this.  It 
was  clear  that  the  Ministry  supposed  that  the  motive  of  the  colonists  in 
resisting  taxation  was  merely  of  a  sordid  nature.     This  idea  was  in  itself 


140 

sufficiently  humiliating ;  and  now,  wlien  by  making  concessions  to  tlie 
East  India  Company,  a  direct  attempt  was  made  to  buy  them  off  by  an 
appeal  to  their  pockets,  the  indignation  of  the  colonists  was  raised  to  the 
highest  pitch. 

The  plan  of  union  as  proposed  by  Virginia,  and  which  had  now  been 
adopted  by  all  the  New  England  colonies,  rendered  concert  of  action 
much  easier  than  heretofore.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as  it  was  known  that 
the  tea  ships  were  on  their  way  to  America,  measures  were  immediately 
taken  to  prevent  the  landing  of  their  cargoes.  The  non-importation 
agreements,  which  had  of  late  grown  lax,  became  again  stringent ; 
and  the  correspondence  between  the  vigilant  committees  of  the  several 
colonies  was  renewed  with  greater  activity  than  ever.  On  the  18th  of 
October,  1773,  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia  assembled  in  the  State 
House ;  and  having  in  several  spirited  resolutions  denied  the  right  of 
Parhament  to  tax  America,  and  denounced  the  duty  on  the  tea,  compelled 
the  agents  of  the  East  India  Company,  by  the  mere  force  of  public 
opinion,  to  resign.  In  Boston  the  patriots  were  no  less  active.  Town 
meetings  were  constantly  held,  and  committees  appointed  to  confer  with 
committees  from  the  neighboring  towns,  upon  the  best  method  of  "  pre- 
venting the  landing  and  sale  of  the  teas  exported  from  the  East  India 
Company."  Unlike,  however,  the  excitement  produced  by  the  Stamp  Act, 
everything  was  now  done  ''decently  and  in  order."  The  burning  of  the 
Gaspe  in  the  waters  of  the  Naragansett,  on  the  night  of  the  17th  of 
June,  1772,  was  suggestive.  On  the  night  of  the  16th  of  December, 
1773,  three  tea  ships,  which  laj*  moored  at  Griffin's  Wharf,  were  boarded 
by  a  party  of  men  disguised  as  Mohawk  Indians,  and  their  cargoes,  con- 
sisting of  three  hundred  and  forty  chests  of  tea,  thrown  into  the  waters 
of  the  bay. 

Nor  was  New  York  behind  her  sister  colonies  in  resisting  this  new 
feature  of  ministerial  oppression.  Two  days  after  the  meeting  in  Phila- 
delphia, the  Sons  of  Liberty  held  a  public  meeting,  in  which  they 
denounced  in  unequivocal  terms  the  importation  of  the  hateful  article ; 
and  declared  with  such  effect  that  tea-commissioners  were  fully  as  obnox- 
ious as  stamp-distributers,  that  the  commissioners  appointed  for  New 
York  forthwith  resigned.  Public  sentiment,  moreover,  was  not  confined 
merely  to  resolves.  A  remark  of  Governor  Tryon  that  "  the  tea  should  be 
delivered  to  the  consignees,  even  if  it  was  sprinkled  with  blood,"  was  not 
calculated  to  pour  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters ;  and  so  soon  as  it  was 
known  that  consignments  of  tea  would  shortly  reach  the  city,  another 
mass-meeting  of  the  citizens  was  held  at  their  old  rendezvous — "  the 
fields" — to  devise  measures  for  preventing  the  landing  of  the  tea  from 
a  vessel  which  was  hourly  expected.  Hardly  had  the  people  assembled, 
when  Whitehead  Hicks,  the  Mayor,  hastened  to  the  meeting,  charged 
with  a  message  from  the  Governor,  to   the  effect  that  when  the  vessel 


141 

arrived,  the  tea  should  be  publicly  taken  from  the  ship  into  the  fort,  and 
there  kept  until  the  advice  of  the  Council  could  be  taken,  or  the  King's 
order  could  be  known.  The  moment  was  critical,  but  John  Lamb — by 
whose  influence  undoubtedly  the  meeting  had  been  called — at  once  saw 
through  the  artifice.  He  immediately  arose  and  addressed  the  Assembly. 
After  giving  a  summary  of  the  grievances  which  had  brought  them 
together,  he  read  the  Act  of  Parliament  which  prescribed  the  payment 
of  the  duty  if  the  article  was  landed,  and  then  asked,  "  Shall  the  tea  be 
landed  ?''  A  unanimous  "  NO  !  "  repeated  three  times,  clearly  showed  the 
mind  of  his  audience. 

But  this  spirit  of  resistance  to  Parliamentary  usurpation  was  not 
shared  in  by  the  Assembly,  whose  members  were  more  subservient  than 
ever.  Notwithstanding  the  conduct  of  the  Governor,  they  did  not  hesi- 
tate in  the  spring  session  to  vote  five  thousand  pounds  toward  rebuilding 
the  government  house,  which  had  been  recently  destroyed  by  fire  ;  and 
in  response  to  his  opening  speech,  in  which  they  were  informed  that  he 
had  been  called  home  to  confer  with  the  Ministry  in  relation  to  the  New 
Hampshire  grants,  they  expressed  the  hope  that  his  return  to  a  grateful 
people  would  be  speedy.  Indeed,  as  Mr.  Dunlop  remarks,  if  the  number 
of  compliments  paid  him  upon  his  departure  was  any  test,  it  would  seem 
as  if  he  was  very  much  beloved.  Several  of  the  loyahsts  residing  in  the 
city  gave  him  a  public  dinner ;  General  Haldimand,  who  had  succeeded 
Gage  as  Commander-in-Chief,  honored  him  with  a  ball ;  corporations  and 
societies  vied  in  presenting  addresses ;  King's  College  created  him  a 
doctor  in  civil  law ;  and  the  General  Assembly  tendered  him  an  address, 
in  which,  after  expressing  their  appreciation  of  the  uprightness  and  integ- 
rity of  his  conduct,  they  added,  in  yet  more  fulsome  eulogy,  that  they 
thought  it  their  duty,  as  the  representatives  of  a  free  and  happy  people, 
to  pay  this  tribute  of  applause  and  acknowledgment  to  a  Governor  who 
had  so  eminently  distinguished  himself  by  his  constant  attention  to  their 
care  and  prosperity.  The  Governor,  in  return,  thanked  them  for 
their  "  truly  loyal  and  affectionate  address;"  and  having,  on  the  19th  of 
March,  summoned  the  General  Assembly  to  his  house,  gave  his  assent  to 
the  acts  that  had  been  passed,  and  closed  the  session  by  prorogation. 

Thus  ended  the  third  session  of  the  Legislature  of  the  colony  and 
the  administration  of  Governor  Tryon,  without  having  in  a  single 
instance  come  into  collision  with  his  Excellency,  or  even  with  the  Legis- 
lative Council,  save  in  the  matter  of  a  disagreement  between  the  two 
bodies  in  respect  to  an  amendment  to  the  militia  bill,  proposed  by  the 
Council,  but  to  which  the  House  disagreed.  An  attempt  was  made  in 
the  Council,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Smith,  to  obtain  a  conference,  btit  the 
proposition  was  voted  down.  The  amendment  referred  to,  according  to 
the  reasons  of  dissent  recorded  by  Mr.  Smith,  was  an  invasion  of  the  royal 
prerogative  ;  and  had  the  bill  been  passed  in  the  shape  insisted  upon  by  the 


142 

House,  Mr.  Smith  maintained  that  it  would  have  received  the  Governors 
negative.  According  to  the  reasons  of  dissent,  the  rejection  of  the  amend- 
ment of  the  Council  evinced  a  determination  by  the  House  to  control 
the  action  of  the  Governor  in  commanding  the  services  of  the  militia,  while 
there  were  indications  that  their  services  would  be  required  to  quell  insur- 
rection in  the  New  Hampshire  grants.  Mr.  Smith  set  forth  that  a  sim- 
ilar amendment  sent  to  the  House  in  1772  had  been  concurred  in  by 
that  body,  and  that  no  reason  was  perceptible  justifying  a  change  of  sen- 
timents upon  the  question  ;  and  he  thought  a  friendly  conference  might 
induce  the  House  to  }ield.  Other  reasons  for  his  assent  were  given ;  and 
he  referred  to  open  surmises  abroad,  that  the  Legislature  was  losing  its 
confidence  in  the  Governor,  and  the  loss  of  the  bill  with  the  provision  in 
question  might  be  viewed  as  an  evidence  that  the  Legislature  had  not 
been  ''  sincere  in  tlie  testimonials  they  had  given  and  justly  awarded  to  his 
Excellency  for  an  administration  wise  and  impartial,  fair  and  generous, 
and  steadily  conducted  upon  principles  unbiased  by  party  feuds,  and 
acknowledged  to  be  equally  friendly  to  the  rights  of  the  Crown  and  the 
weal  of  the  colony."  But  the  conference  was  not  asked,  and  in  fact  there 
was  no  collision. 

This  profound  tranquility  which  had  succeeded  the  election  of  the 
present  General  Assembly  in  1770,  was  the  more  remarkable  from  the 
raging  of  the  political  elements  all  around  New  York,  and  from  the  cir- 
cumstances -under  which  the  preceding  Assembly  had  been  dissolved,  and 
the  feelings  attending  the  new  election.  The  preceding  Assembly  had 
been  dissolved  for  its  strong  declaration  of  those  constitutional  principles 
which  had  been  planted  in  the  bosoms  of  the  colonists  from  their  settle- 
ment, and  which  were  striking  deeper  root  every  hour  and  yet,  neither 
under  Sir  Henry  Moore,  who  had  dissolved  the  preceding,  and  summoned 
the  present  Legislature,  nor  under  Lord  Dunmore,  nor  under  Governor 
Tryon,  had  a  breeze  moved  upon  the  political  waters,  so  far  as  the  Legis- 
lature was  concerned,  save  only  by  its  concurrence  in  the  Virginia  resolu- 
tions of  May,  1769 ;  nor  did  that  act  of  concurrence  occasion  any  visible 
agitation.  But  it  was  the  deep,  solemn  calm,  which  often  precedes  the 
lightning  and  the  whirlwind  ! 

But  the  storm  was  to  break  sooner  than  was  anticipated.  The  utter- 
ances of  James  Otis  and  Patrick  Henry  had  created  a  tide  of  public  feel- 
ing which  ordinary  barriers  were  powerless  to  resist.  Events  followed 
each  other  in  startling  rapidity.  On  the  night  of  the  22d  of  April,  1774, 
the  Sons  of  Liberty,  following  the  example  of  their  Boston  neighbors, 
and  like  them  also  disguised  as  Mohawks,  threw  over  a  cargo  of  tea, 
brought  by  the  Nancy ^  into  the  waters  of  New  York  Bay.  New  York, 
imitating  the  example  of  her  sister  colonies,  formed  a  Provincial  Con- 
gress in  opposition  to  the  regular  Assembly,  whose  members  still 
remained  lukewarm,   and  appointed  five  delegates  to  the   Continental 


143 

Congress  which  had  already  convened  in  Philadelphia.  Tryon,  in  a 
maze  at  the  turn  affairs  had  taken,  sailed,  as  we  have  seen,  for  England 
on  the  7th  of  April,  1774,  to  represent  to  the  Ministry  the  alarming  state 
of  things  in  the  colonies.  The  Province  of  New  York  was  ordered  by 
the  Continental  Congress  to  contribute  her  quota  of  three  thousand  men 
to  the  general  defense.  -The  battle  of  Lexington  had  been  followed  by 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill ;  the  brave  Montgomery  was  preparing  to  under- 
take his  ill-fated  expedition  against  Quebec  ;  and  Putnam,  and  Heath,  and 
Pomeroy,  and  a  score  of  brave  spirits  laid  close  siege  to  Boston. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  "Washington,  on  the  21st  of 
June,  1775,  set  out  from  Philadelphia  for  Boston,  with  the  purpose  of 
taking  New  York  in  his  way.  All  disguise  had  now  been  thrown  off; 
and  it  was  his  purpose  to  place  that  important  post  under  the  command 
of  one  of  his  generals  upon  whom  he  could  rely.  But  the  approach  of 
Washington  toward  the  city  threw  the  Provincial  Congress  into  a  quan- 
dary. It  had  usurped  the  powers  of  Governor  Tryon  in  his  absence, 
while  professing  at  the  same  time  a  semi-loyalty  to  the  parent  govern- 
ment. To  add  also  to  its  perplexity,  Tryon,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
England,  was  in  the  lower  bay  and  might  arrive  at  the  wharf  at  any 
moment.  A  middle  course  was  therefore  adopted.  The  militia  was 
ordered  out  and  the  commanding  officer  directed  "  to  pay  military  honors 
to  whichever  of  the  distinguished  functionaries  should  first  arrive."  As 
it  chanced,  Washington  arrived  first  on  the  25th,  and  was  escorted  into 
the  city  by  a  committee  of  the  Pro\'incial  Congress,  by  whom  he  had 
been  met  at  Newark.  As  soon  as  the  customary  military  honors  had 
been  paid,  Peter  Van  Burgh  Livingston,  as  President  of  the  New  York 
Congress,  advanced  and  delivered  a  congratulatory  address.  "  Confiding 
in  you,  sir,"  said  the  speaker,  "  and  in  the  worthy  generals  under  your 
command,  we  have  the  most  flattering  hopes  of  success  in  the  glorious 
struggle  for  American  liberty,  and  the  fullest  assurances  that  whenever 
this  important  contest  shall  be  decided  by  that  fondest  wish  of  each 
American  soul,  an  accommodation  with  our  mother  country,  you  will 
cheerfully  resign  the  important  deposit  committed  into  your  hands  and 
resume  the  character  of  our  worthiest  citizen." 

Hardly  had  these  honors  been  paid  to  Washington  when,  at  eight 
o'clock  of  the  same  evening,  Tryon  landed,  and  was  in  turn  greeted  by 
the  same  militia,  and  in  addition,  by  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council, 
who,  b}^  their  transports  of  loyalty,  seemed  anxious  to  neutralize,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  reception  given  a  few  hours  previous  to  Washington. 
Meanwhile,  the  latter,  having  placed  the  city  under  the  command  of 
General  Schuyler,  departed  for  Boston,  leaving  the  citizens  in  great 
doubt  as  to  the  future  steps  which  would  be  taken  by  Tryon. 

Their  suspense,  however,  was  to  be  short.  The  Provincial  Congress 
regarding  the  guns  in  the  battery  as  a  standing  menace  to  the  patriot 


144 

party,  and  wisliing  tliem  for  the  defense  of  tlie  Highlands,  ordered  their 
removal.  The  indomitable  Lamb,  at  the  head  of  his  Liberty  Boys,  among 
whom  was  Alexander  Hamilton,  at  once  volunteered  for  this  service,  and 
in  the  face  of  the  guns  of  the  Asia,  which  opened  her  batteries  upon  the 
party,  succeeded  in  carrying  away  to  a  place  of  safety  the  whole  of  the 
pieces  of  cannon,  twenty-one  in  number.  This  event  at  once  brought 
things  to  a  crisis ;  and  the  Governor,  alarmed  for  his  personal  safety  among 
an  incensed  populace,  took  refuge  on  board  of  the  Asia. 

Meanwhile,  the  Assembly  of  New  York,  not  wishing  to  join  in  the 
radical  action  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  yet  feeling  keenly  the  course 
of  the  parent  government,  had  prepared  and  sent  to  the  Crown  a  memo- 
rial for  a  redress  of  their  grievances — a  fact  which  the  Ministry  soon 
learned,  and  not  without  mortification.  "  We  claim,"  the  address  said  in 
conclusion,  "  but  a  restoration  of  the  rights  which  we  enjoyed  by  general 
consent  before  the  close  of  the  last  war ;  we  desire  no  more  than  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  ancient  government  to  which  we  are  entitled  by  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  British  Constitution,  and  by  which  alone  can  be  secured  to 
us  the  rights  of  Englishmen."  The  address  was  presented  to  the  House 
of  Commons  by  Mr.  Burke,  but  was  never  called  up.  Incensed  at  this 
insult  to  themselves,  those  faint  hearts  in  the  Assembly  who  had  hereto- 
fore wavered,  now  boldly  joined  the  patriots  ;  and  when,  on  the  10th  of 
July,  1776,  the  news  was  received  in  the  city  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, the  enthusiasm  was  well  nigh  universal — almost  all  hasten- 
ing to  aid  General  Putnam  (who  had  succeeded  Lee  in  the  command) 
in  fortifying  the  city.  The  principal  fortifications  were  as  follows :  A 
grand  battery  of  twenty-three  guns  was  erected  directly  south  of  the  Bowl- 
ing Green  ;  McDougall's  Battery  of  four  guns  stood  on  a  little  eminence  to 
the  west  of  Trinity  Church.  On  the  East  Eiver  side  were  Coenties'  Battery, 
Waterbury's  Battery,  Badlam's  Battery  of  eight  guns  near  the  Jewish 
burial-ground  on  Chatham  street,  and  the  Independent  Battery  on  a  slight 
elevation  on  the  corner  of  the  present  Grand  and  Centre  streets.  "  Breast- 
works were  also  erected  at  Peck,  Beekman,  Burling  and  Old  Slips  ;  at 
the  Coffee-House,  the  Exchange,  and  in  Broad  street."  Ditches  were 
cut  across  the  island  from  the  East  to  the  North  River,  and  at  the 
same  time  strong  fortifications  were .  thrown  up  on  Governors  Island, 
Paulus  Hook  (Jersey  City),  Brooklyn  Heights,  and  Long  Island. 

These  fortifications  were  erected  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  who,  rightly  anticipating,  on  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by 
General  Howe,  that  his  next  point  of  attack  would  be  New  York,  detached 
General  Greene,  with  a  portion  of  the  army,  to  put  Long  Island  and  the 
harbor  of  New  York  in  a  posture  of  defense.  Washington  followed  soon 
afterward  himself,  and  established  his  headquarters  in  the  city.  Having 
been  joined  by  his  brother,  Lord  Howe,  as  commander  of  the  fleet  at 
Halifax,  General,  afterward  Sir  William  Howe,  arrived  with  his  rein- 


145 

forcements  off  Sandy  Hook,  the  latter  on  the  25th  of  June,  1776,  and  the 
former  on  the  12th  of  the  following  month.  General  CHnton  arriving  at 
about  the  same  time  from  the  unsuccessful  attempt  against  Charleston 
with  Admiral  Hotham,  the  combined  forces  of  the  enemy  now  amounted 
to  nearly  twenty-four  thousand  men,  including  the  Hessians. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  the  British  army  was  landed  upon  Long 
Island  at  Gravesend.  The  American  army,  consisting  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand men,  under  Sullivan,  was  encamped  in  the  neighborhood  of  Brook- 
lyn. The  battle  of  Long  Island,  which  was  severely,  though  ineffect- 
ually, contested  by  the  American  forces  under  Sullivan  and  Lord 
Stirling,  was  fought  on  the  27th  of  August.  In  this  action,  the  loss  of 
the  enemy  was  reported  at  from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  and 
fifty.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  far  greater.  General  Washington 
admitted  it  to  be  one  thousand,  but  he  is  believed  only  to  have  referred 
to  the  loss  of  the  regular  troops.  General  Howe  claimed  one  thousand 
and  ninety-seven  prisoners,  among  whom  were  Generals  Sullivan, 
Stirling,  and  Woodhull.  On  the  30th,  the  Americans  effected  a  masterly 
retreat  across  the  East  River  to  New  York.  The  enemy  made  immediate 
dispositions  for  attacking  the  city ;  and  so  prompt  and  skillful  were  his 
movements,  that,  in  a  council  of  general  officers,  an  immediate  evacuation 
was  deemed  the  only  means  of  saving  the  army.  The  British  fleet  was 
divided  into  two  squadrons,  one  of  which  entered  the  East  and  the  oth-er 
the  North  River.  Under  cover  of  the  former.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  crossed 
from  Long  Isknd  and  landed  at  Kipp's  Bay  with  such  celerity  that  the 
Americans  fled  in  disorder.  Indeed,  the  evacuation  resembled  rather  a 
flight  than  a  retreat — all  the  heavy  artillery,  military  stores,  baggage,  and 
provisions,  falhng  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  A  large  portion  of  the 
American  forces,  at  that  time,  consisted  of  militia,  the  conduct  of  which 
was  scandalous  beyond  endurance.  They  deserted,  not  only  in  small 
numbers,  but  in  companies  and  squadrons,  whenever  they  could  ;  and 
their  conduct,  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  or  rather  when  running  from  the 
faces  of  the  enemy,  was  most  cowardly.  So  disorderly  was  their  demeanor? 
and  so  Hke  poltroons  did  they  behave  when  flying  from  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  that  even  Washington  himself  lost  his  patience,  and  was  excited 
to  a  degree  of  hot  exasperation.  In  writing  from  Harlaem  Heights  to  a 
friend,  General  Greene  said  that  "  two  brigades  of  militia  ran  away  from 
about  fifty  men,  leaving  the  Commander-in-Chief  on  the  ground,  within 
eighty  yards  of  the  enemy,  so  vexed  with  the  conduct  of  his  troops  that 
he  sought  death  rather  than  life.  His  attempts  to  stop  them  were  fruit- 
less. He  drew  his  sword  and  threatened  to  run  them  through,  and 
cocked  and  snapped  his  pistols.*    But  all  his  exertions  were  to  no  purpose.'' 

*  Mr.  Bancroft,  it  is  true,  discredits  this  statement ;  but,  it  seems  to  me,  with- 
out sufficient  reason. 

10 


146 

In  a  letter  upon  the  subject  of  this  infamous  conduct  of  the  militia,  to  the 
President  of  Congress,  the  Commander-in-Chief  declared  that,  "  were  he 
called  to  give  his  opinion  upon  oath,  he  should  say  that  militia  did  more 
injury  to  the  service  than  good." 

General  Greene  strongly  urged  the  destruction  of  the  city  by  fii'e — a 
measure  afterward  so  effectively  adopted  by  Count  Rostopchin,  Governor 
of  the  ancient 'capital  of  Muscovy,  to  arrest  the  career  of  Napoleon — that 
the  enemy  might  be  deprived  of  the  advantage  of  estabhshing  their 
winter-quarters  therein.  His  reasons  for  this  measure  were  sound,  and 
ought,  doubtless,  to  have  been  adopted.  Washington,  also,  was 
believed  to  be  of  the  same  opinion,  especially  as  two-thirds  of  the  property 
which  it  was  proposed  to  destroy,  belonged  to  undisguised  loyalists.  But 
Congress  would  not  allow  the  sacrifice;  and  on  the  15th  of  September, 
1776,  the  City  of  New  York  was  in  full  possession  of  the  British — General 
Washington  having  retired  with  the  army  to  King's  Bridge. 

It  would  seem,  however,  as  if  the  idea  of  firing  the  city — though 
given  up  by  Washington  and  Greene — was  still  cherished  by  some  of  the 
residents  of  the  city.  Scarcely  had  the  British  fairly  taken  posession, 
when  on  the  night  of  the  20th  of  September — only  six  days  after  they  had 
marched  in — a  terrific  fire  broke  out,  which  was  not  subdued  until  one 
thousand  houses,  or  about  one-fourth  of  the  city,  was  reduced  to  ashes.* 
The  fire  was  first  discovered  in  a  low  dram-shop,  tenanted  by  abandoned 
men  and  women ;  but  in  a  few  minutes  afterward  flames  were  seen  to 
break  forth  from  several  other  buildings,  lying  in  different  directions,  at 
the  same  moment.  Tor  some  time  previous  the  weather  had  been  dry, 
and  at  the  moment  a  brisk  southerly  wind  prevailing,  and  the  buildings 
being  of  wood  and  covered  with  shingles,  the  flames  soon  caught  the 
neighboring  houses  and  spread  with  inconceivable  rapidity.  The  fire 
swept  up  Broad  and  Beaver  streets  to  Broadway  and  thence  onward,  con- 
suming all  that  portion  of  the  town  lying  on  the  North  Eiver,  until  the 
flames  were  stopped  by  the  grounds  of  King's  (Columbia)  College  at  Mortkile 
street,  now  Barclay.  St.  Paul's  Church,  at  one  time,  was  in  great  danger. 
Fortunately,  however,  the  roof  was  flat,  with  a  balustrade  on  the  eaves. 
Taking  advantage  of  this  circumstance,  a  number  of  citizens  went  into  the 
balustrade  and  extinguished  the  flakes  of  fire  as  they  fell  on  the  roof. 
Trinity  Church,  with  the  Lutheran  Chapel,  on  the  opposite  corner  of 
Rector  street,  was  also  destroyed.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Inglis  was  then  rector 
of  Trinity,  and  with  this  sacred  edifice,  his  parsonage  and  the  Charity 
School — two  large  buildings — were  consumed,  entaihng  a  loss  of  church- 
property  to  the  value  of  twenty-five  thousand  pounds.  The  organ  of 
Trinity,  alone,  cost  eight  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 

*  Hugh  Gaine,  in  his  Universal  Register  for  1787,  states  that  before  this  fire,  the 
city  contained 'about  four  thousand  two  hundred  houses,  and  thirty  thousand 
inhabitants. 


Ul 

At  the  present  day  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  fire  was  or  was 
not  the  result  of  incendiarism  on  the  part  of  disaffected  Americans.  Even 
reliable  contemporaneous  writers  difi'er  widely  in  their  opinion  on  the 
subject,  some  affirming  positively  that  the  city  was  set  on  fire,  and  others 
again  cjuite  as  positively  affirming  the  contrary.  For  ourselves,  we  are 
inclined  to  believe  that  the  fire  was  the  result  of  a  dehberate  design  ;  nor. 
if  the  newspapers  and  private  correspondence  of  the  day  can  be  believed,  is 
there  much  room  left  for  doubt.  According  to  these  authorities,  one 
man  was  seized  in  the  act  of  setting  fire  to  the  College,  who  acknowledged 
that  he  had  been  employed  for  the  purpose.  A  New  England  captain,, 
who  was  seized  at  the  same  time,  with  matches  in  his  pocket,  also 
acknowledged  the  same.  One  White,  a  carpenter,  was  observed  to  cut 
the  leather-buckets  which  conveyed  the  water.  "  The  next  day,  Satur- 
day," says  Steadman,  in  his  history  of  the  American  War,  •'  a  great  many 
cart-loads  of  bundles  of  pine-sticks  dipped  in  brimstone  were  found  con- 
cealed in  cellars  of  houses  to  which  the  incendiaries  had  not  had  time  to 
set  fire."  "  The  rebels,"  says  the  Rev.  Charles  Inghs,  in  writing  on 
the  same  subject,  a  few  days  after,  to  the  '  Venerable  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,'  "  carried  off*  all  the  bells  in 
the  city,  partly  to  convert  them  into  cannon  and  partly  to  prevent  notice 
being  given  speedily  of  the  destruction  they  meditated  against  the  city  by 
fire,  when  it  began.  *  *  Several  rebels  secreted  themselves  in  the 
houses  to  execute  the  diabolical  purpose  of  destroying  the  city."  Not- 
withstanding, however,  this  seeming  mass  of  testimony,  it  was  found 
impossible  to  obtain  legal  proof  sufficient  to  fasten  the  act  upon  any  par- 
ticular individual — for  all  who  had  been  caught  a  the  time  with  matches, 
&c.,  had  been  killed  on  the  spot  by  the  enraged  soldiery — and  the  result 
was,  that  several  of  the  citizens,  who  had  been  arrested  and  imprisoned 
on  the  charge  of  being  the  incendiaries,  were  acquitted. 

The  history  of  New  York  City  during  its  occupation  by  the  British 
is  not  one  that  Americans  can  recall  with  pleasure.  True  it  is  that  this 
period  has  invested  a  few  of  the  old  buildings,  yet  standing,  with  interest ; 
but  these  very  associations  are  of  a  saddening,  melancholy  nature,  and 
only  calculated  to  make  Americans,  even  at  the  present  day,  blush  at  the 
remembrance  of  the  fact  that  British  officers — having  their  blood,  and  the 
same  ancestry,  and  speaking  the  same  tongue — could  ever  have  been  guilty 
of  such  horrid  atrocities  upon  the  persons  of  inoffensive  captives.  Of  the 
numerous  prison-pens  in  the  city  during  the  Revolution,  only  two  yet  stand 
— like  charred  and  battered  monuments  of  cruelty  and  tyranny — the  North 
Dutch  Church,  on  WilHam  street,  and  the  Middle  Dutch  Church — the 
present  Post-Office.  In  the  former  edifice,  eight  hundred  prisoners  were 
ncarcerated,  without  fuel  or  bedding,  during  two  of  the  coldest  winters 


148 

New  York  has  ever  known.*  Their  provisions  were  scanty,  and  of  the 
poorest  quality^ ;  and,  as  a  natural  and  probably  anticipated  consequence, 
many  died  from  cold  and  starvation.  "  We  never,"  says  Oliver  Woodruff, 
one  of  the  prisoners,  "  drew  as  much  provisions  for  three  days'  allowance 
as  a  man  would  eat  at  a  common  meal.  I  was  there  three  months  during 
that  inclement  season,  and  never  saw  any  fire,  except  what  was  in  the  lamps 
of  the  city.  There  was  not  a  pane  of  glass  in  the  windows,  and  nothing  to 
keep  out  the  cold,  except  the  iron  grates."  '^  The  allowance,''  says  Adolph 
Meyer,  another  prisoner,  "  was  one  loaf  of  bread,  one  quart  of  peas,  half  a 
pint  of  rice,  and  one  and  a  half  pounds  of  pork  for  six  days.  Many  pris- 
oners died  from  want ;  and  others  were  reduced  to  such  wretchedness  as  to 
attract  the  attention  of  common  prostitutes,  from  whom  they  received 
considerable  assistance.  No  care  was  taken  of  the  sick,  and  if  any  died 
they  were  thrown  at  the  door  of  the  prison,  and  lay  there  till  the  next 
day,  when  they  were  put  on  a  cart  and  drawn  out  to  the  entrenchments, 
beyond  the  Jews'  burial-ground,  where  they  were  interred  by  their  fellow- 
prisoners,  conducted  thither  for  that  purpose.  The  dead  were  thrown 
into  a  hole  promiscuously,  -^dthout  the  usual  rites  of  sepulcher."  But 
the  state  of  things  was  even  worse  in  the  IMiddle  Dutch  Church — the 
present  Post-Office — into  which  three  thousand  prisoners  were  crowded. 
"  Here,"  says  John  Pintard,  an  eye-mtness  of  these  scenes,  "the  prisoners 
taken  on  Long  Island  and  at  Fort  Washington-^sick,  wounded,  and 
well — were  all  indiscriminately  huddled  together  by  hundreds  and 
thousands,  large  numbers  of  whom  died  by  disease ;  and  many  were 
undoubtedly  poisoned  by  their  inhuman  attendants  for  the  sake  of  their 
watches  and  silver  buckles."  "  The  beds  of  the  prisoners,'"  says  Dunlop, 
writing  at  the  time,  "  were  straw,  intermixed  with  vermin.  For  many 
weeks,  the  dead-cart  visited  the  prison  every  morning,  into  which  from 
eight  to  twelve  corpses  were  flung  and  piled  up,  then  dumped  into  ditches 
in  the  outskirts  of  the  city."  The  bones  of  the  unfortunate  victims  of 
British  cruelty,  thus  disposed  of,  were  collected  after  the  Eevolution,  and 
buried  with  proper  funeral  rites,  t 

But  while  the  American  prisoners  were  thus  languishing  in  chains, 
the  British  officers  and  their  wives  were  passing  their  time  in  a  round  of 
gayety  and  frivoHty.  The  best  view,  perhaps,  of  the  interior  and  social 
life  of  New  York  at  this  time — now  become  in  reahty  a  British  city — is 

*  During  one  of  these  winters — that  of  1779-80 — the  river  between  Cortlandt 
street  and  Jersey  was  frozen  over  for  forty  days.  Hundreds  of  people  crossed  daily 
on  the  ice,  which  was  so  thick  that  artillery  was  also  conveyed  across. 

f  It  is  very  true  that,  at  times,  the  British  themselves  were  often  in  want  of 
food,  and  suffered  from  cold — and  also  that  provisions  were  dear — still,  that  need  no  t 
have  prevented  them  from  giving  the  prisoners  bed-clothes,  and  ministering  to  their 
necessities,  and  alleviating  their  condition  as  far  as  possible. 


149 

given  in  the  letters  of  Mrs.  General  Eiedesel.*  This  lady  was  the  wife 
of  the  German  general  who  commanded  the  Brunswick  troops  at  the 
battle  of  Saratoga,  where  he  was  captured  with  Burgoyne.  After  her 
husband  was  exchanged  she  spent  nearly  two  years  in  New  York  City — 
1779-80 — and  her  letters  to  her  mother  at  this  time  are  of  great  interest. 
From  these  letters,  recently  pubhshed  in  book-form,  we  make  the  follow- 
ing extracts : 

"  Finally,  late  one  evening,  at  the  end  of  November,  1779,  we 
reached  New  York,  where  my  husband,  who  had  gone  ahead  of 
us,  had  already  arrived  before  me.  A  soldier  who,  at  the  gate- 
way, had  been  ordered  to  show  us  the  way,  conducted  us  to  a  very 
great  and  beautiful  house,  where  we  found  everything  prepared  for 
our  reception,  and,  better  than  all.  a  good  supper.  I  was  too  much 
occupied  in  putting  the  children  to  bed,  and  too  tired  to  inquire 
where  I  was,  and  supposed  I  was  in  a  public-house.  My  husband, 
who  had  taken  tea  with  General  Cornwallis.  came  home  late.  The  next 
morning  a  servant  came  in  to  ask  me  what  I  desired  for  dinner,  and  how 
many  visitors  I  would  probably  have  daily  at  table.  I  replied  that  as  my 
husband  did  not  dine  at  home,  I  should  not  need  more  than  three  dishes 
for  six  persons,  namely  :  myself,  my  children,  my  women-servants,  and  the 
pastor,  Myhus,  the  chaplain  of  my  husband's  regiment,  whom  we  retained 
in  our  family,  and  who  gave  my  children  instruction  in  everything  useful. 
He  was  a  man  of  piety  and  of  excellent  character  and  good  humor,  and 
the  children  and  we  all  loved  him  very  much.  I  was  then  told  that  the 
order  had  been  given  to  serve  up  on  my  table  every  day  six  large  and 
four  small  dishes.  Being  still  under  the  impression  that  I  was  in  a  tav- 
ern, I  decidedly  forbade  this  profusion,  as  I  dreaded  the  bill.  But  I  soon 
discovered  that  I  was  staying  at  the  house  of  the  Governor,  General 
Tryon,  who  had  forbidden  them  to  tell  me  where  I  had  been  taken,  through 
fear  that  I  would  not  accept  of  his  house. t     This  noble-minded  man, 

*  Letters  and  Jmtrnals  relating  to  the  War  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  the 
Capture  of  the  German  Troops  at  Saratoga,  hy  Mrs.  General  Riedesel.  Translated 
from  the  original  German,  by  William  L.  Stone.    Albany  :  J.  Munsell.     1867. 

t  The  site  of  the  present  [1868]  Bank  of  New  York. 

"  On  the  night  of  December  29th,  1773,  the  government  house  accidentally 
caught  fire.  So  rapid  was  the  progress  of  the  flames  that  in  a  few  moments  after 
the  alarm  was  given,  a  thick  cloud  of  smoke  and  flame  pervaded  the  whole  building, 
and  in  less  than  two  hours  it  was  entirely  consumed.  From  this  dreadful  conflagra- 
tion, nothing  in  the  building,  except  a  few  articles  of  furniture  taken  from  one  of 
the  parlors,  was  saved.  The  manner  in  which  the  fire  originated  was  not  discov- 
ered. The  deep  snow  which  covered  the  roofs  of  the  other  buildings  in  the  city, 
contributed  toward  their  protection,  and  the  fire  department  of  the  city  showed 
great  activity  in  preventing  the  progress  of  the  flames.  G-overnor  Tryon  was  a  resi- 
dent of  the  government  house  in  the  fort  at  the  time  of  its  destruction,  and  was  a 
heavy  loser  by  the  event.     He   afterward  resided  in  a  house  on  the  comer  of  Wall 


150 

moreover,  in  order  to  avoid  my  thanks,  crossed  over  to  Long  Island, 
where  he  had  a  provisional  command.  All  my  wishes  were  anticipated, 
and  I  was  only  in  continual  fear  lest  I  should  abuse  so  much  kindness. 
I  also  received  a  call  from  General  Patterson,  the  commandant  of  the 
city,  who  told  me  that  they  were  still  busy  with  the  arrangement  of  the 
house,  which  we  were  to  have  as  our  own  residence.  Lord  Cornwallis 
and  General  Clinton  likewise  came  to  see  me.  The  former  went  oflf  soon 
afterward  upon  an  expedition.  The  latter  offered  me  a  country  seat,  of 
which  he  had  the  disposal,  where  I  might  have  my  children  inoculated 
with  the  small-pox,  an  operation  which  it  would  be  dangerous  to  have 
performed  in  the  city,  as  that  disease  was  raging  there  \iolently.  I 
accepted  his  offer  with  much  satisfaction,  and  we  made  all  necessary 
preparations  to  go  there.  I  gave  our  cook  ten  guineas  to  purchase  all 
kinds  of  provisions.  But  when  he  very  soon  came  back  and  asked  for 
more  money,  I  learned  to  my  surprise  that  the  money  I  had  given  him 
would  scarcely  last  for  two  days,  so  dear  was  everything,  even  the  com- 
monest thing.  For  example,  one  pound  of  meat,  reckoning  according  to 
our  money,  cost  twelve  groschen  ;*  one  pound  of  butter,  eighteen  groschen  ; 
one  turkey,  four  rix-thalers ;  a  fowl,  twenty  groschen ;  an  egg;  four 
groschen ;  a  quart  of  milk,  six  groschen  ;  a  bushel  of  potatoes,  two  rix- 
thalers  ;  a  half  bushel  of  turnips,  two  florins  ;  ten  oysters,  eight  groschen  ; 
and  six  onions,  one  rix-thaler.  But  what  was  there  left  for  me  to  do  but 
to  bear  it  with  patience  ?t 

One  day  a  general  was  announced.  I  received  him,  and  in  the 
course  of  conversation  he  asked  me,  among  other  things,  whether  I  was 
satisfied  with  my  quarters  ?     My  heart  was  too  full  of  thankfulness  for 

and  William  streets,  the  same  house  having  been  subsequently,  and  until  late  years, 
occupied  by  the  Bank  of  New  York." —  Valentine^ s  Manual  for  1864,  pag-e  643. 

*  A  groschen,  as  has  been  mentioned  in  a  preceding  note,  is  a  fraction  over 
three  American  cents. 

f  All  contemporaneous  accounts  fully  corroborate  the  statement  of  our  authoress. 
The  rich  in  the  city  at  first  strove  to  keep  up  their  six  courses,  their  three-side 
services,  and  their  profusion  of  fish,  flesh,  and  fowl,  but  at  length  their  resources 
failed ;  many  articles  of  food  could  no  longer  be  obtained,  and  others  were  so  dear 
as  to  exhaust  the  means  of  the  wealthiest.  A  turkey  was  cheap  at  four  dollars. 
Good  meat  could  seldom  be  procured,  and  vegetables  were  extravagantly  dear. 
Pifty  dollars,  says  an  eye-witness,  would  not  feed  a  family  for  two  days.  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  entreated  the  farmers  of  the  vicinity  to  bring  in  provisions,  but  in  vain. 
Nor  was  he  more  successful  in  the  foraging-parties  he  sent  out.  At  sight  of  the 
enemy  the  alarm  was  given.  The  farmers  of  Wcstport  and  Southport,  of  Elizabeth- 
town  and  Rahway,  hastily  buried  their  corn  and  oats  beneath  the  snow,  and  old 
family  furniture  was  carried  off  at  midnight  and  hidden  in  the  depths  of  the  forest' 
The  British  foraging-parties  accordingly  found  the  barns  empty,  the  cattle  driven 
off,  and  the  farm-houses  deserted.  In  their  rage  the  foragers  set  fire  to  the  old 
homesteads  and  desolated  whole  districts,  thus  increasing  the  general  misery  without 
accomplishing  the  least  good. 


151 

all  the  kindness  that  had  been  shown  me,  not  to  give  full  vent  to  my 
feelings  in  this  regard ;  and  I  at  last  expressed  the  wish  to  know  person- 
ally my  noble  benefactor  who  had  treated  me  with  so  much  delicacy.  He 
laughed,  and  just  at  that  moment  my  husband  stepped  in  and  said  to  me, 
"  That  is  the  man  who  has  shown  us  so  much  kindness !"  I  was  so 
dehghted  at  seeing  him  that  I  could  not  find  words  to  express  my  feelings. 
Upon  seeing  my  emotion  the  man  was  very  much  affected.  I  have  inva- 
riably received  from  him  the  greatest  proofs  of  his  friendship. 

The  country  residence  of  General  Clinton,  where  we  went,  was  an 
hour's  ride  from  the  city.  The  grounds  were  beautiful,  as  was  also  the 
house,  but  the  latter  was  arranged  more  for  a  summer  residence,  and  as 
we  had  come  there  in  the  month  of  December,  we  suffered  much  from 
the  cold.  Notwithstanding  this,  however,  the  inoculation  was  perfectly 
successful.  Accordingly,  as  it  was  now  completed,  and  we  had  nothing 
more  to  fear  from  the  infection,  we  got  ourselves  in  readiness  to  return 
to  the  city,  and  sent  our  cook  and  the  rest  of  our  servants  ahead  to  pre- 
pare everything  for  our  arrival,  which  we  expected  would  be  upon  the 
following  day.  During  the  night,  however,  we  had  such  a  terrible  storm 
that  we  behoved  the  whole  house  would  be  overturned.  As  it  was,  an 
entire  balustrade  actually  fell  down  with  a  dreadful  crash,  and  on  getting 
up  the  next  morning,  we  saw  that  on  account  of  snow  having  fallen  during 
the  night  four  or  five  feet  on  the  level,  and  eight  feet  in  drifts,  it  would 
be  utterly  impossible  to  venture  forth  without  sledges.  I  therefore  went 
to  work  to  hunt  up  all  that  I  could  find  for  our  dinner.  An  old  hen  that 
had  been  forgotten  served  us  for  soup,  and  some  potatoes  which  the 
gardener  gave  us,  with  some  salt  meat  that  still  remained  over  from  our 
stock  of  provisions,  made  up  the  entire  meal  for  more  than  fourteen  per- 
sons, which  number  we  then  were. 

On  our  return  to  New  York  I  found,  to  my  great  amazement  our  new 
dwelling  fitted  up  throughout  with  mahogany  furniture.  I  was  at  first 
frightened  at  the  expense  which  this  would  occasion.  But  Captain 
Willoe  informed  me  that  the  entire  cost  would  be  defrayed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  that  the  Commandant,  General  Patterson,  considered  himself 
fortunate  in  being  able  to  justify  the  confidence  which  I  had  placed  in 
the  English  nation.  To  render  this  remark  intelligible,  I  must  here  state 
that  I  had  assured  him,  when  he  consulted  me  upon  the  arrangement  of 
our  house,  that  I  would  leave  everything  entirely  to  the  English,  from 
whom,  up  to  the  present  time,  I  had  received  sincere  kindness  and 
courtesy,  and  who  certainly  would  still  preserve  toward  us  that  full  con- 
fidence which  they  had  shown  toward  us. 

They  overwhelmed  us  with  distinguished  marks  of  courtesy  and 
friendship,  for  which  we  had,  in  a  great  measure,  to  thank  General 
Phillips,  who  in  New  York  was  very  much  beloved,  and  was  so  strong  a 
friend  of  ours,  that  he  declared  that  whatever  was  done  for^  us,  would 


152 

flatter  him  more  than  as  if  done  for  himself.  I  had  also  the  good  fortune 
during  our  stay  to  make  many  friends  on  my  own  account. 

As  the  birthday  of  the  Queen  of  England  was  approaching  (which 
really  comes  in  summer,  but  as  the  King's  birthday  also  comes  in  that 
season,  is  celebrated  in  winter,  to  give  more  custom  to  the  trades-people 
(as  every  one  upon  those  days  appears  at  court  in  gala-dress ,  they  wished 
to  celebrate  the  day  with  a  gresit fete;  and  as  it  was  the  general  wish — 
partly  to  please  General  Phillips,  and  partly  to  make  me  forget  my  own 
suffering — to  confer  on  me  a  distinguished  honor,  they  desired  me  to  be 
queen  of  the  ball.  In  order  to  bring  this  about  they  persuaded  the  wife 
of  General  Cornwalhs'  adjutant — who  as  an  English  lady  of  noble  birth, 
would  have  had  precedence  over  me — to  remain  at  home  on  the  ground 
that  she  was  near  her  confinement.  When  at  length  the  great  day 
arrived,  all  the  ladies  assembled  at  Governor  Tryon's,  where  they  received 
me  with  all  ceremony.  The  General  introduced  me  to  all  the  ladies,  some 
of  whom  were  envious  of  the  honor  which  was  shown  me.  But  I  imme- 
diately declared  that  I  received  this  distinction  only  on  account  of  the  day,  as 
they  had  conferred  on  me  the[honor  of  representing  the  Queen,  and  that 
in  future  I  would  give  place  to  those  ladies  who  were  older  than  I.  As 
there  were  quite  a  number  present  who  were  my  elders,  my  explanation 
conciliated  them.  Their  countenances,  accordingly,  quickly  brightened 
up,  and  I  was  soon  upon  a  pleasant  footing  with  the  whole  company. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  I  was  obliged  to  seat  myself  in  a- 
carriage  with  Generals  Tryon  and  Patterson  to  be  driven  to  the  ball, 
where  we  were  received  with  kettle-drums  and  trumpets. 

At  supper,  I  was  obliged,  as  I  represented  the  Queen,  to  sit  under  a 
canopy,  and  drink  the  first  toast.  I  was  certainly  much  touched  at  all 
the  marks  of  friendship  I  received,  although  extremely  tired ;  still,  in 
order  to  show  my  gratitude,  I  cheerfully  stayed  as  long  as  possible,  and 
remained  until  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Not  only  on  this  occasion, 
but  during  the  whole  of  my  sojourn  in  this  place,  I  was  loaded  with  kind- 
ness ;  and  I  passed  the  remainder  of  the  winter  very  pleasantly,  with  the 
exception  of  suffering  very  much  from  the  cold,  as  the  commissary  had 
not  had  a  sufficient  quantity  of  wood  cut.  To  save  expense,  he  had  this 
work  done  by  his  negro  slaves ;  and  the  winter  setting  in  earlier  than 
usual,  and  being  impossible,  as  the  river  was  frozen  half  over,  to  bring 
in  wood  either  by  boats  or  sledges,  many  of  the  garrison  suffered  for  fuel. 
We,  indeed,  received  an  order  for  it ;  but  how  did  that  help  the  matter 
since  there  was  no  wood  to  be  had  ?  We  were,  therefore,  often  obliged 
to  borrow  wood  of  General  Tryon  for  Saturday  and  Sunday,  which  we 
would  return  on  Monday  if  we  received  any.  The  cold  was  so  intense, 
that  I  frequently  made  the  children  lie  in  bed  in  order  to  keep  them 
warm.  Wood  could  not  often  be  purchased  for  money ;  and  if  by  chance 
a  little  was  for  sale,  it  cost  ten  pounds  by  the  cord.     I  have  myself  paid 


I 


153 

one  piaster  (which  is  a  crown  with  us)  for  a  single  stick.  The  poor  were 
obliged  to  burn  fat,  in  order  to  warm  themselves  and  cook  their  meals.* 

One  day  I  was  at  the  house  of  the  lady  of  General  Cornwallis'  aid- 
de-camp,  who  had  been  confined,  and  complained  bitterly  of  this  lack  of 
wood ;  whereupon,  she  promised  to  send  me  some  coals,  which  I  could 
return  at  my  own  convenience.  I  showed  so  much  joy  at  this,  that  a 
certain  Major,  named  Brown,  who  happened  to  be  present,  and  was 
attached  to  the  commissariat,  and  who  had  already  expressed  much 
sympathy  at  our  want  of  wood,  was  so  much  affected  that  he  immediately 
left  the  room. 

The  next  day,  as  I  was  looking  out  of  the  window,  I  saw  quite  a 
number  of  wagons  full  of  chopped  trees  standing  still  in  the  street.  Each 
wagon  contained  two  cords  of  wood.  I  went  into  the  room  where  the 
pastor,  Mylius,  sat  with  the  children  before  the  fire-place  in  which  the 
last  stick  was  burning,  and  said  to  him :  '  Never  before  have  I  been 
envious  ;  but  now  the  distress  and  pain  which  these  poor  children  sufi'er, 
make  me  so  ;  for  just  now  there  has  come  to  our  very  door  four  wagons 
filled  with  wood.  How  happy  would  I  be  if  I  only  had  some  of  it !' 
Scarcely  had  I  thus  spoken,  when  a  servant  brought  me  a  message  from 
Major  Brown,  stating  that  he  had  sent  me  these  loads  of  wood  with  his 
compliments,  and  begging  us  to  send  to  him  whenever  we  should  again 
be  out  of  fuel.  Imagine  my  joy,  and  my  eagerness  to  thank  our  guardian 
angel.  I  had  scarcely  seen  his  face,  as  the  lying-in  chamber  of  milady 
had  been  so  dark.  Some  days  after  I  was  at  a  ball  where  he  also 
was  expected  to  be  present.  He  had  been  described  to  me  as  a  man  with 
a  very  prominent  turned -up  nose.  For  such  a  person,  therefore,  I  looked 
attentively ;  but  I  was  obhged  to  look  for  a  long  time,  because  the  excel- 
lent man  kept  continually  out  of  the  way,  that  I  might  have  no  oppor- 
tunity to  thank  him.  At  last,  however,  I  found  him,  and  thanked  him 
right  heartily.  He  then  told  me  that  up  to  that  time  he  had  known 
nothing  of  our  necessity,  but  that  when  he  heard  my  story  he  had  not 
been  able  to  go  to  sleep  quietly  the  whole  night,  through  fear  that  the 
dispositions  which  he  had  already  made  for  our  rehef  would  not  arrive 
sufiiciently  speedy.  These  '  dispositions  '  consisted  in  giving  the  order  to 
cut  down  some  of  the  trees  in  the  great  avenue  in  front  of  the  city  ;  f 

*  "  The  wealthy,"  writes  a  contemporary,  "  shivered  for  cold  in  their  splendid 
apartments.  In  vain  did  Sir  Henry  Clinton  issue  proclamations  to  the  farmers  of 
Long  Island  to  send  in  their  wood.  In  vain  did  he  dispatch  foraging-parties  to  cut 
down  the  forests  on  the  large  estates  of  the  patriots  William  Floyd  and  William 
Smith,  the  patroons  of  Long  Island.  The  demand  for  fuel  could  not  be  supplied 
and  the  Baroness  Riedesel,  the  caressed  of  all  the  army,  suffered  severely  in  tha^ 
inclement  winter." 

f  Probably,  the  present  Wall  street.  AH  the  principal  highways  of  the  city 
were  adorned  at  this  period  with  luxuriant  shade-trees.     A  celebrated  traveler,  who 


154 

and  when  this  proceeding  was  objected  to  on  the  ground  that  it  would 
make  considerable  damage,  he  rephed,  that  it  was  much  better  to  spare 
a  few  trees  than  to  have  a  family,  who  had  served  the  King  with  so 
much  zeal,  suffer  from  want.  He  further  told  me  that  in  future  we 
must,  under  all  circumstances,  whenever  anything  was  wanting  that  it 
belonged  to  the  commissary  to  supply,  apply  directly  to  him.  This 
acquaintance  was  of  great  advantage  to  us.  My  husband  was  supplied 
with  many  kinds  of  provisions ;  with  Indian  meal,  part  of  which  we  used 
for  bread  and.  part  for  cake,  and  also  with  salted  meat,  which  latter 
article,  however,  was  entirely  useless  to  us,  as  we  received  more  than  we 
could  consume ;  and  it  often  was  so  uneatable  that  I  gave  it  away  to  get 
rid  of  it,  especially  since  our  servants  were  also  suppKed  with  the  same 
kind  of  food.  The  Major,  accordingly,  advised  us  to  pursue  the  same 
plan  in  this  regard  as  the  other  generals,  viz. :  to  exchange  our  meat 
for  boxes  of  tallow  and  candles  of  spermaceti  (which  burn  better  and  are 
more  beautiful  than  those  of  wax),  and  also  for  butter,  which  they  did 
gladly,  as  they  were  obliged  to  supply  the  soldiers  with  meat.  By  this 
means,  we  saved  considerable.  We  were  now  no  longer  troubled  for  the 
want  of  wood,  for  they  broke  to  pieces  an  old  and  worthless  ship  in  order 
to  furnish  us  with  fuel,  and  from  this  time  we  received  weekly  two  cords 
of  fire-wood. 

Throughout  the  whole  winter,  Generals  Phillips,  Tryon,  and  Patter- 
son were  our  constant  friends  and  guests,  and  every  week  we  gave  a  gen- 
tleman's dinner  party.  This  was  all  that  we  could  afford  to  do,  as  every- 
thing was  so  terribly  high  in  the  city.  At  the  end  of  the  winter  General 
Tryon  sailed  for  England,  but  just  before  his  departure,  he  sent  to  my 
house  unbeknown  to  me,  magnificent  furniture,  tapestry,  carpets,  and 
curtains,  besides  a  set  of  silk  hangings  for  an  entire  room.  Never  shall 
I  forget  the  many  marks  of  friendship  which  I  have  received  from  almost 
every  one  of  this  excellent  nation,  and  it  will  always  be  to  me  a  source  of 
satisfaction  to  be  able  at  any  time  to  be  of  use  to  the  English,  as  I  have 
learned  by  experience  how  pleasant  it  is  to  receive  kindness  from 
foreigners. 

visited  New  York,  just  previous  to  the  arrival  of  Governor  Tryon,  thus  describes  the 
various  kinds  then  growing  in  the  city  :  "  In  the  chief  streets  there  are  trees  planted, 
which  in  the  summer  give  them  a  fine  appearance,  and  during  the  excessive  heat  at 
that  time,  afford  a  cooling  shade.  I  found  it  extremely  pleasant  to  walk  in  the 
to"v\Ti,  for  it  seemed  quite  like  a  garden.  The  trees  which  are  planted  for  this  pur- 
pose are  chiefly  of  two  kinds  ;  the  water-beech  is  the  most  numerous,  and  gives  an 
agreeable  shade  in  summar  by  its  large  and  numerous  leaves.  The  locust-tree  is 
likewise  frequent ;  its  fine  leaves  and  the  odoriferous  scent  which  exhales  from  its 
flowers,  make  it  very  proper  for  being  planted  in  the  streets  near  the  houses  and  in 
the  gardens.  There  are  likewise  lime-trees  and  elms  in  these  walks,  but  they  are 
not,  by  far,  so  frequent  as  the  others.  One  seldom  meets  with  trees  of  the  same  sort 
adjoining  each  other,  they  being  in  general  placed  alternately." 


155 

About  this  time  our  friendly  relations  began  with  our  excellent 
friend  General  Clinton,  who  was  the  general-in-chief  of  the  English  army 
in  the  southern  provinces  of  America.  As  is  the  case  with  every  English- 
man, it  was  at  first  very  difficult  for  our  acquaintance  to  ripen  into  inti- 
macy. His  first  call  upon  us  was  one  of  ceremony,  as  he  came  as  general- 
in-chief,  attended  by  his  entire  staff.  As  his  general  appearance  and 
conversation  were  agreeable,  I  said  to  his  friend,  General  Phillips,  that  I 
regretted  that  he  had  treated  us  with  so  much  ceremony,  and  that  a 
more  friendly  manner  would  have  better  accorded  with  our  feeUngs. 
Afterward  he  invited  us  out  to  his  country  seat  to  spend  the  sum- 
mer, an  invitation  which  was  accepted.  His  country  residence  was 
magnificent,  a  most  beautiful  situation,  orchard  and  meadows,  and 
the  Hudson  Eiver  running  directly  in  front  of  the  house.  Every 
thing  was  placed  at  our  disposal,  including  fruits  of  the  most  deli- 
cious flavor ;  indeed,  of  this  latter  article  we  had  more  than  we 
could  eat.  Our  servants  feasted  on  peaches  even  to  satiety,  and  our 
horses,  which  roamed  through  the  orchards,  eagerly  ate  the  fruit  from 
the  trees,  disdaining  that  upon  the  ground,  which  every  evening  we  had 
gathered  up  and  given  to  the  pigs  to  fatten  them.  It  seems  almost 
incredible,  but  nevertheless  it  is  true,  that  with  nothing  but  this  fruit  we 
fattened  six  pigs,  the  flesh  of  which  was  capital,  only  the  fat  was  some- 
what soft.  Peach,  apricot,  and  other  fruit-trees  are  raised  here  without 
espahers,  and  have  trunks  as  thick  as  those  of  ordinary  trees. 

Not  far  from  us  were  the  Hell  Gates,  which  are  dangerous  breakers 
for  those  ships  that  pass  through  them  up  the  river.  We  often  saw  ships 
in  danger,  but  only  one  was  wrecked  and  went  to  pieces  during  our  stay 
at  this  place. 

General  Chnton  came  often  to  visit  us,  but  in  hunter's  dress,  accom- 
panied by  only  one  aid-de-camp.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he  said  to 
us  :  '  I  feel  confident  that  you  look  upon  me  more  as  a  friend  than  a 
stranger,  and  as  I  feel  the  same  toward  you,  you  shall  always  be  regarded 
by  me  as  such.'  The  last  time  he  came  to  see  us,  he  had  with  him  the 
unfortunate — as  he  afterward  became — Major  Andre,  who,  the  day  after- 
ward, set  out  upon  the  fatal  expedition  in  which  he  was  captured  by  the 
Americans  and  afterward  hung  as  a  spy.  It  was  very  sad  that  this 
pre-eminently  excellent  young  man  should  have  fallen  a  victim  to  his  zeal 
and  his  kind  heart,  which  led  him  to  undertake  such  a  precarious  errand 
instead  of  leaving  it  to  older  and  known  officers,  to  whom  properly  the 
duty  belonged,  but  whom  on  that  very  account  (as  they  would  be  more 
exposed  to  danger)  he  wished  to  save. 

We  passed  much  of  our  time  at  this  most  agreeable  place,  but  our 
contentment  was  broken  in  upon  by  a  malignant  fever  that  prevailed  in 
New  York,  and  of  which  in  our  family  alone,  twenty  fell  ill,  eight  danger- 
ously.    Among  these  eight  were  my  husband  and  my  daughter  Gustava. 


156 

One  can  imagine  my  grief  and  apprehension  ;  day  and  night  I  did  nothing 
but  divide  my  nursing  between  my  husband  and  daughter.  The  former 
was  so  ill  that  we  often  thought  he  would  not  survive  the  day,  and  Gus- 
tava  had  such  violent  paroxysms  of  fever  that  she  entreated  me,  when  she 
was  shivering  with  the  ague,  to  lay  myself  upon  her,  at  which  times  she 
violently  shook  me  together  with  her  bed,  although  she  was  only  nine 
years  old.  It  frequently  happened  that  those  sick  of  the  fever  died  in 
these  fits  of  shaking,  and  every  day  persons  would  tell  me  of  fifty  or  sixty 
fresh  burials,  which  certainly  did  not  tend  to  raise  my  spirits.  The  heat 
which  the  sick  suffered  was  so  intense  that  their  pulse  beat  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  times  in  a  minute.  All  our  servants  were  sick,  and  of 
course  I  was  obliged  to  do  everything.  I  was  then  nursing  my  little 
America,  and  had  neither  opportunity  nor  desire  to  lie  down,  except  while 
giving  her  the  breast.  At  such  times  I  laid  down  upon  the  bed  and  fell 
asleep.  At  night  I  was  often  busied  in  making  for  my  patients  a  lemon- 
ade of  salts  of  wormwood,  mixed  with  lemon-juice,  sugar  and  water.  By 
which  means,  as  all  the  sick  in  the  house  had  them,  I  used  up  in  the 
space  of  two  weeks,  two  full  boxes  of  lemons,  each  box  containing  five 
hundred. 

We  remained  the  entire  summer  of  1780  upon  this  lovely  estate. 
Two  Miss  Hobinsons  came  to  share  our  loneHness  and  enliven  our  little 
company.  They  remained  with  us  a  fortnight  previous  to  our  return  to 
the  city,  when  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  a  ship  from  England  bringing  over 
the  latest  fashions,  took  them  back  again  to  the  town.  On  our  return  to  the 
city  I  scarcely  recognized  them  in  their  odd  and  actually  laughable  garb, 
which  a  very  pretty  woman  just  over  from  England,  had  imposed  upon 
them  and  the  other  New  York  ladies.  This  lady  was  with  child  and  did 
not  Avish  it  to  be  known.  Accordingly,  she  made  them  think  that  in 
England  they  wore  bodices  that  were  parted  in  the  middle,  whereby  the 
points  stuck  upward,  hoops  as  large  around  as  those  of  a  hogshead,  and 
very  short  cloaks  tied  up  with  ribbons,  all  of  which  they  beheved  implic- 
itly and  copied  after.* 

Upon  our  return  to  New  York  we  were  received  in  the  most  friendly 

*  The  taste  for  fashionable  frivolity  and  display  seems  to  have  been  the  only- 
thing  unaffected  by  the  privations  of  that  gloomy  winter.  Eugene  Lawrence,  in 
speaking  of  New  York  City  at  this  time,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society,  January  6th,  1857,  says  :  "  Meanwhile,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  suffer- 
ing and  want,  the  city  streets  were  filled  with  the  fashions  and  the  luxuries  of 
Europe.  The  ladies  c  rowded  William  street,  and  the  merchants  spread  out  the  most 
costly  wares.  French  silks  captured  in  some  unlucky  vessels,  sold  readily  at  extrav- 
agant rates.  Lutestrings  and  poplins,  brocades,  and  the  best  broadcloth  of  England, 
were  shown  on  the  counters  of  William  street  and  Wall,  and  it  is  a  curious  circum- 
stance, that  through  all  the  war,  William  Prince,  of  Flushing,  continued  his  adver- 
tisement of  fruit  and  flowers,  of  magnolias  and  apricots,  and  of  the  finest  grafts,  and 
the  rarest  seeds." 


157 

mafiner,  and  our  friends  vied  with,  each  other  in  making  the  winter  pass 
most  pleasantly.  My  husband,  General  Phillips,  and  their  aid-de-camps, 
were  finally  exchanged  in  the  autumn  of  1780,  but  the  rest  of  the  troops 
captured  at  Saratoga  remained  prisoners. 

General  Clinton,  partly  through  friendship  to  my  husband,  and 
partly  out  of  attachment  to  our  present  duke,  wished  to  place  General 
Riedesel  in  active  service  where  he  could  serve  to  advantage.  He,  there- 
fore, by  virtue  of  the  power  which  an  English  general  has  in  his  own 
army,  appointed  him  Lieutenant-General  and  gave  him  the  correspond- 
ing English  allowance ;  which,  on  account  of  the  dearness  of  everything 
(by  reason  of  which  we  had  difficulty  in  making  both  ends  meet),  proved 
very  acceptable  to  us.  At  the  same  time  he  gave  him  a  command  at  Long 
Island,  which  island  lies  opposite  New  York,  being  separated  from  it  by 
only  a  narrow  channel  called  the  East  Eiver.  I  was  not  able  during  the 
winter  to  be  with  him,  as  the  house  in  which  he  had  his  quarters,  was 
not  habitable  for  me,  as  it  was  possible  to  heat  only  a  few  rooms  in  it. 
My  husband,  accordingly,  went  back  and  forth,  which  he  easily  did  all 
winter,  as  everything  was  quiet.  The  autumn  before  he  was  appointed 
to  this  post,  he  had  a  severe  relapse  of  his  old  complaint,  caused  probably 
by  a  cold  which  he  caught  by  going  in  sea-bathing  while  heated.  He 
suddenly  became  perfectly  stiff  and  could  not  speak,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  friend  Colonel  Wurmb,  who  fortunately  was  in  his  room,  it  might 
perhaps  have  been  all  over  with  him.  The  doctor  immediately  opened  a 
vein  and  rubbed  him  strongly,  and  God  once  more  spared  him  to  me  ;  but 
his  cramps,  oppressions,  headaches,  and  drowsiness  increased.  All  the 
physicians  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  the  climate  thoroughly  disagreed 
with  him,  and  that  he  never  would  be  any  better  as  long  as  he  remained 
in  the  southern  provinces  of  North  America.  Still  there  was  nothing  else 
for  us  to  do.  My  husband  could  not  think  of  receiving  permission  to 
leave,  and  was,  therefore,  obliged  to  remain  at  his  joost. 

In  the  spring  of  1781, 1  also  settled  down  on  Long  Island,  where  we, 
although  pretty  lonesome,  might  have  lived  perfectly  contented  if  we 
only  could  have  been  without  solicitude  ;  but  as  the  river  was  not  frozen 
over,  the  Americans  constantly  attempted  surprises  in  order  to  take  pris- 
oners. Major  Maybaum  was  drawn  out  of  his  bed,  and  we  knew  that 
they  aimed  to  do  the  same  thing  with  my  husband.  Our  house  was  sit- 
uated close  to  the  shore  and  was  perfectly  isolated,  so  that  if  they  had 
overcome  the  watch  they  could  easily  have  carried  him  away.  Every  one 
was  therefore  constantly  on  the  watch.  Throughout  the  entire  night  at 
the  slightest  noise,  he  would  wake  up  and  place  himself  in  readiness  for 
an  attack,  and  thus  he  lost  considerable  sleep.  I  also  became  so  accus- 
tomed to  watching  that  daylight  would  often  surprise  me  when  I  would 
lie  down  and  catch  a  few  hours  sleep,  for  it  was  only  when  my  husband* 
believed  that  I  was  wide  awake  and  on  guard,  that  he  would  allow  him- 


158 

self  to  sleep,  so  terrible  was  to  him  the  thought  that  he  might  again*  be 
taken  prisoner.  We  had  from  our  house  a  magnificent  prospect.  Every 
evening  I  saw  from  my  window  the  City  of  New  York,  entirely  lighted  up, 
and  as  the  city  is  built  close  to  the  shore,  I  saw  its  reflection  in  the  water. 
We  heard  also  the  beating  of  the  drums,  and,  if  everything  was  particu- 
larly still,  even  the  calls  of  the  sentinels.  We  had  our  own  boat,  and 
could  cross  over  in  it  to  New  York  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour." 

At  length,  a  definite  treaty  of  peace  was  entered  into  by  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  on  the  3d  of  September,  1783 ;  and  on  the  25th 
of  November,  of  the  same  year — just  seven  years,  two  months,  and  ten 
days  from  the  time  the  British  had  occupied  New  York  in  triumph — 
Washington  entered  the  city  at  noon — at  the  same  time  that  the  British 
troops,  having,  as  they  supposed,  prevented  the  immediate  hoisting  of 
American  colors,  by  knocking  ofiP  the  cleats  and  greasing  the  flag-staff  on 
Fort  George — evacuated  the  city  and  sailed  slowly  down  the  bay.  But 
this  device  availed  them  little.  New  cleats  were  at  once  nailed  on  to  the 
pole ;  and  before  the  British  disappeared  in  the  offing  they  heard  the 
thunders  of  American  cannon,  proclaiming — as  the  Stars  ajjd  Stripes 
were  run  up — the  downfall  of  British  supremacy  in  America ! 

A  history  of  this  period  would  be  incomplete  without  an  allusion  to 
the  newspapers  pubhshed  in  the  City  of  New  York  before  and  during 
the  American  devolution. 

The  first  newspaper  pubhshed  in  New  York  City  was  the  New  York 
Gazette,  established  by  William  Bradford  in  October,  1725,  just  twenty- 
one  years  subsequent  to  the  establishment  at  Boston  of  the  first  newspaper 
pubhshed  in  America — the  Newsletter.  It  was  printed  on  a  half-sheet  of 
foolscap,  with  a  large  and  almost  worn-out  type.  There  is  a  large  volume 
of  these  papers  in  the  New  York  Society  Library,  in  good  preservation. 
The  advertisements  do  not  average  more  than  three  or  four  a  week,  and 
are  mostly  of  runaway  negroes.  The  ship-news  was  diminutive  enough — 
now  and  then  a  ship,  and  some  half-dozen  sloops  arriving  and  leaving  in 
the  course  of  the  week.  Such  was  the  daily  paper  published  in  this,  the 
commercial  metropohs  of  America,  one  hundred  and  forty-one  years  ago  ! 

Eight  years  after  the  establishment  of  Bradford's  Gazette,  the  New 
York  Weeldy  Journal  Avas  commenced  by  John  Peter  Zenger,  and  was 
distinguished  for  the  raciness  of  its  advertisements.* 

The  third  paper  published  in  New  York  was  called  the  Evening  Post. 
It  was  commenced  by  Henry  De  Forest  in  1746.     It  was  remarkable 


*  One  of  these  advertisements  was  as  follows : 

Whereas,  the  wife  of  Peter  Smith  has  left  his  bed  and  board,  the  public  are 
cautioned  against  trusting  her,  as  he  will  pay  no  debts  of  her  contracting. 

N.  B. — The  best  of  garden-seeds  sold  by  the  same  Peter  Smith,  at  the  sign  of 
the  Golden  Hammer. 


159 

chiefly  for  stupidity,  looseness  of  grammar,  and  worse  orthography,  and 
died  before  it  was  able  to  walk  alone. 

In  1752  the  New  York  Mercury  was  commenced,  and  in  1763  the  title 
was  changed  to  the  New  York  Gazette  and  Weekly  Mercury.  This  paper  was 
estabhshed  by  Hugh  Gaine,  at  the  sign  of  the  Bible  and  Crown,  Hanover 
Square.  It  was  conducted  with  taste  and  ability,  and  became  the  best 
newspaper  in  the  colonies.  In  1763  Gaine  was  arraigned  by  the  Assembly 
for  pubhshing  a  part  of  the  proceedings  without  permission,  and  withal 
incorrectly.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  a  kind  spirit,  and  never  had  the 
power  to  withhold  an  apology  when  it  was  asked ;  he  accordingly  apolo- 
gized, was  reprimanded,  and  discharged. 

As  the  storm  of  war  drew  on  in  1775,  the  Mercury  contained  a  series 
of  patriotic  papers,  under  the  signature  of  the  "  Watch-Tower."  But  as 
the  British  drew  near  to  New  York,  the  patriotism  of  Gaine  began  to 
cool ;  and  during  the  whole  course  of  the  Eevolutionary  War  his  Mercury 
afforded  very  accurate  indications  of  the  state  of  the  contest.  (When 
with  the  Whiys,  Hugh  Gaine  was  a  Whiy ;  when  with  the  Royalists^  he 
was  loyal.)  When  the  contest  was  doubtful,  ec^ually  doubtful  were  the 
politics  of  Hugh  Gaine.  In  short,  he  was  the  most  perfect  pattern  of  the 
genuine  non-committal.  On  the  arrival  of  the  British  army  he  removed  to 
Newark,  but  soon  returned  to  the  city,  and  published  a  paper  devoted  to 
the  cause  of  the  Crown.  His  course  was  a  fruitful  theme  for  the  wags 
of  the  day ;  and  at  the  peace,  a  poetical  petition  from  Gaine  to  the  Senate 
of  the  State,  setting  forth  his  life  and  conduct,  was  got  up  with  a  good 
deal  of  humor.     His  paper  closed  with  the  war. 

Another  paper,  called  the  New  York  Gazette,  was  commenced  by 
Wayman,  the  former  associate  of  Parker.  In  1766  Wajnnan  was  arrested 
and  imprisoned  for  a  contempt  of  the  Assembly,  upon  no  other  charge 
than  that  of  two  typographical  errors  in  printing  the  speech  of  Sir  Henry 
Moore,  the  Governor  of  the  Colony.  One  of  these  errors  consisted  in 
printing  the  word  7iever  for  ever,  by  reason  of  which  the  meaning  of  the 
sentence  was  reversed.  The  Assembly,  however,  was  more  rigid  in  this 
case,  from  the  suspicion  entertained  that  this  error  was  intentional ;  but 
such  was  clearly  not  the  case. 

A  paper  called  the  New  York  Chronicle  was  published  during  the  years 
1761-62,  and  then  died.  The  New  York  Pacquet  was  next  pubhshed  in 
1763,  but  how  long  it  lived  is  not  known.  In  1766,  Holt  established  the 
JSlew  York  Journal,  or  General  Advertiser,  which  in  the  course  of  the  year 
was  united  with  Parker  s  Gazette,  the  Journal  being  printed  as  a  separate 
paper.  John  Holt  edited  the  first  Whig  paper  pubHshed  in  this  city  ; 
nor,  as  in  the  case  of  Hugh  Gaine,  did  his  patriotism  come  and  go,  as 
danger  approached  or  receded  from  the  city.  In  1774,  Holt  discarded 
the  King's  arms  from  the  title  of  his  paper,  substituting  in  place  of  it  a 
serpent,  cut  in  pieces,  with  the  expressive  motto,   ^'-finite  or  die.''''     In 


160 

January,  1775,  the  snake  was  united  and  coiled  with  the  tail  in  his 
mouth,  forming  a  double  ring.  On  the  body  of  the  snake,  beginning  at 
the  head,  were  the  following  lines : 

"  United  now,  alive  and  free — 
Firm  on  this  basis  Liberty  shall  stand, 
And,  thus  supported,  ever  bless  our  land, 
Till  Time  becomes  Eternity." 

The  designs  both  of  1774  and  1775  were  excellent — the  first  by  a 
visible  illustration,  showing  the  disjointed  state  of  the  colonies ;  and  the 
second  presenting  an  emblem  of  their  strength  when  united.  Holt  main- 
tained his  integrity  to  the  last.  When  the  British  took  possession  of 
New  York  he  removed  to  Esopus,  now  Kingston,  and  revived  his  paper. 
On  the  burning  of  that  village,  by  the  enemy,  in  1777,  he  removed  to 
Poughkeepsie,  and  published  the  Journal  there  until  the  peace  of  1783, 
when  he  returned  to  New  York  and  resumed  his  paper  under  the  title  of 
the  Independent  Ga%eUe^  or  the  New  York  Journal  revived.  Holt  was  an 
unflinching  patriot,  but  did  not  long  survive  the  achievement  of  his 
country's  freedom.  He  fell  a  victim  to  the  yellow  fever  in  1798.  The 
paper  was  continued  by  his  widow  for  a  Kttle  while,  but  ultimately  fell 
into  the  hands  of  that  celebrated  political  gladiator,  James  Cheetham. 

The  celebrated  James  Bivington  began  his  paper  in  1733,  under  the 
formidable  title  of  Rivington^s  New  Yorh  Gazette;  or^  the  Connecticut,  New 
Jersey,  Hudson  River ^  and  Quebec  Weehly  Advertiser.  The  imprint  read  as 
follows  :  *'  Printed  at  his  ever  open  and  uninfluenced  press,  fronting  Han- 
over Square."  It  is  well  known  that  Pivington  was  the  royal  printer 
during  the  whole  of  the  Pevolutionary  War ;  and  it  is  amusing  to  trace 
the  degrees  by  which  his  toryism  manifested  itself  as  the  storm  gathered 
over  the  country.  The  title  of  the  paper  originally  contained  the  cut  of 
a  large  ship  under  full  sail.  In  1774  the  ship  sailed  out  of  sight,  and 
the  King's  arms  appeared  in  its  place — and  in  1775  the  words  ever  open  and 
uninfluenced  were  withdrawn  from  the  imprint.  These  symptoms  were  dis- 
hked  by  the  patriots  of  the  country;  and  in  November,  1775,  a  party  of 
armed  men  from  Connecticut  entered  the  city  on  horseback,  beset  his 
habitation,  broke  into  his  printing  office,  destroyed  his  presses,  and  threw 
his  types  into  pi.  They  then  carried  them  away,  melted,  and  cast  them 
into  bullets.  Eivington's  paper  was  now  effectually  stopped — omitted, 
like  the  case  of  the  Oneida  editor,  for  ivant  of  room,  until  the  British  army 
took  possession  of  the  City.  Rivington  himself,  meantime,  had  been  to 
England,  where  he  procured  a  new  printing  apparatus,  and  returning, 
estabhshed  the  New  York  Royal  Gazette,  published  by  James  Eivington, 
printer  to  the  King's  most  excellent  Majesty.  During  the  remaining  five 
years  of  the  war  Pivington's  paper  was  the  most  distinguished  for  its 
lies  and  its  disloyalty,  of  any  journal  in  the  colonies.     It  was  published 


161 

twice  a  week ;  and  four  other  newspapers  were  published  in  this  city  at 
the  same  time,  under  the  sanction  of  the  British  officers — one  arranged 
for  each  day,  so  that,  in  fact,  they  had  the  advantages  of  a  daily 
paper.  It  has  been  said  and  believed  that  Rivington,  after  all,  was 
a  secret  traitor  to  the  Crown,  and,  in  fact,  the  secret  spy  for  Genera^ 
Washington.  Be  this,  however,  as  it  may,  as  the  war  drew  to  a  close, 
and  the  prospects  of  the  King's  arms  began  to  darken,  Eivington's  loyalty 
began  to  cool  down;  and  by  1787  the  King's  arms  had  disappeared ;  the 
ship  again  sailed  into  sight ;  and  the  title  of  the  paper,  no  more  the  Royaf> 
Gazette,  was  simply  Rivingtoyi^s  New  York  Gazette  and  Universal  Advertiser. 
But  although  he  labored  to  play  the  republican,  he  was  distrusted  by  the 
people,  and  liis  paper  was  relinquished  in  the  course  of  that  year. 

From  this  brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  newspapers,  from  their 
first  introduction  into  the  city,  down  to  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  an 
idea  may  be  formed  of  the  germ  of  the  newspaper  press,  w^hich  is  now  one 
of  the  chief  glories  of  our  country.  The  public  press  of  no  other  coun- 
try equals  that  of  New  York  City  and  the  United  States,  either  on  the 
score  of  its  moral  or  its  intellectual  power,  or  for  the  exertion  of  that 
manly  independence  of  thought  and  action,  which  ought  ever  to  charac- 
terize the  press  of  a  free  people. 

What  a  prophet  would  the  great  wizard  novelist  of  Scotland  have 
been,  had  the  prediction  which  he  put  into  the  mouth  of  Galeotti  Marti- 
valle,  the  astrologer  of  Louis  the  Eleventh,  in  the  the  romance  of  Quentin 
Diirward,  been  written  at  the  period  of  its  date  !  Louis,  who  had  justly 
been  held  as  the  Tiberius  of  France,  is  represented  as  paying  a  visit  to 
the  mystic  workshop  of  the  astrologer,  whom  his  Majesty  discovered  to  be 
engaged  in  the  then  newly-invented  art  of  multiplying  manuscripts  by  the 
intervention  of  machinery — in  other  words,  the  apparatus  of  printing. 

"Can  things  of  such  mechanical  and  terrestial  import,"  inquired  the 
Kin":,  "  interest  the  thou^rhts  of  one  before  whom  Heaven  has  unrolled 
her  own  celestial  volumes  V  " 

"  My  brother,"  replied  the  astrologer,  "  believe  me  that  in  considering 
the  consequences  of  this  invention,  I  read  with  a  certain  augury,  as  by 
any  combination  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  most  awful  and  portentous 
changes.  When  I  reflect  with  what  slow  and  limited  supplies  the  stream 
of  science  hath  hitherto  descended  to  us ;  how  difficult  to  be  obtained  by 
those  most  ardent  in  its  search  ;  how  certain  to  be  neglected  by  all  who 
love  their  ease  ;  how  liable  to  be  diverted  or  altogether  dried  up  by  the 
invasions  of  barbarism, — can  I  look  forward  without  wonder  and  astonish- 
ment to  the  lot  of  a  succeeding  generation,  on  whom  knowledge  will 
descend  like  the  first  and  second  rain — uninterrupted,  unabated,  unahouyided ; 
fertilizing  some  grounds  and  overflowing  others  ;  changing  the  whole  form 
of  social  life ;  establishing  and  overthrowing  religions ;  erecting  and 
destroying  kingdoms — " 
11 


1 

I 

162  -, 

"  Hold  !  Hold,  Galeotti!"  cried  the  King;  "  shall  these  changes  come         i 
in  our  time  ?  "  ] 

"  No,  my  royal  brother,"  replied  Marti valle  ;    "  this  invention  may  be         | 
likened  to  a  young  tree  which  is  now  newly  planted,  but  shall,  in  suc- 
ceeding generations,   bear  fruit  as  fatal,  yet  as  precious,  as  that  of  the 
Garden  of  Eden — the  knowledge,  namely,  of  good  and  of  evil."  t 


i 


THIRD    PERIOD. 

1783—1868. 
From  the  Evacuation  of  New  York  City  by  the  British  to  the  present  day. 


"  The  city  is  ruined  by  tlie  war,  but  its  future  greatness  is  unques- 
tionable." So  wrote  a  citizen  of  New  York,  at  the  close  of  the  Kevolu- 
tionary  War,  to  a  friend  ;  and  never  was  there  a  truer  prophecy  uttered. 
The  trade  of  the  city  was  indeed  "  ruined ;"  her  treasury  was  empty ;  and 
her  people  were  yet  divided  by  domestic  feuds.  Still,  this  state  of  things 
could  not  last  long.  The  position  of  New  York  among  the  Colonies 
had  already  become  too  important  to  be  ignored  for  any  length  of  time ; 
and  the  same  causes  which,  at  an  early  period,  made  New  York  the 
center  of  the  Colonial  interest,  were  to  continue  in  operation,  until  she 
should  become  that,  which  she  now  is — the  metropolis  of  America. 
The  Colonial  Congress  of  1765,  the  Provincial  Congress  of  1776,  the 
selection  of  herself  as  the  seat  of  the  General  Government  in  1788,  and 
the  inauguration  of  Washington  in  1789,  were  ''all  hints  of  the  empire 
that  was  to  be." 

On  the  13th  of  September,  1788,  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution was  publicly  announced ;  and  New  York  was  chosen,  as  the 
seat  of  the  General  Government.  This  action  of  the  Convention  was 
peculiarly  gratifying  to  the  citizens  of  New  York,  who  at  once  took  steps 
to  celebrate  the  occasion  with  fitting  ceremonies.* 


*  The  account  g-iven  in  the  text  of  the  procession  in  honor  of  the  adoption  of 
the  Federal  Constitution,  as  well  as  the  narrative  of  thelNAUGUR.\TiON  Ball,  is  taken 
from  the  writings  of  the  late  Col.  Wm.  L.  Stone,  for  thirty  years  the  editor  of  the 
New  York  Commercial  Adcertiser.  It  is  believed  to  comprise  the  only  faithful 
historical  record,  political,  festive,  and  fashionable,  of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution,  the  organization  of  the  G-overnment,  the  pageantry  attending  it,  and 
the  demonstrations  which  followed  that  important  epoch  in  our  national  history. 
The  particulars  were  collected  by  Col.  Stone,  with  much  care  and  labor,  from  such 
printed  accounts  as  could  be  found  in  the  scattered  remnants  of  the  little  dingy 
newspapers  of  that  day,  and,  also,  such  facts  as  were  yet  dimly  floating  in  the 
recollections  of  those  few  who  were  then  surviving,  and  had  been  actors  in  the 
scenes  described. 


164 

It  is  well  that  tlie  festivities  attendant  upon  sucli  a  momentons 
occasion  should  be  embalmed  for  American  generations  yet  unborn.  The 
adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution — the  instrument  which  was  to  bind 
the  almost  disjointed  members  of  the  Republic  together,  as  one  people — 
was  the  most  important  event  that  the  citizens  of  New  York  had  ever 
been  called  upon  to  commemorate.  The  period  intervening  between  the 
formation  of  the  Constitution  by  the  Convention,  and  its  adoption  by  the 
number  of  States  requisite  to  give  it  validity,  was  one  of  deep  anxiety  to 
the  patriots  of  that  day,  not  unmingled  with  fears  as  to  the  final  result. 
A  violent  opposition  sprang  up  in  various  parts  of  the  Confederation, 
which  was  so  successfully  fomented  by  demagogues,  and  by  tliose  who 
feared  they  might  lose  weight  in  the  national  scale,  should  the  new 
Federal  edifice  be  erected,  that  the  friends  of  the  Constitution  seeing 
nothing  better  than  civil  tumult  and  anarchy  in  the  prospective,  should 
that  instrument  be  rejected,  entertained  the  most  lively  apprehensions 
upon  the  subject.  There  were,  likewise,  among  the  opponents  of  the 
proposed  Constitution,  some  good  men,  and  real  patriots,  who  honestly 
believed  that,  in  the  event  of  its  adoption,  too  much  power  would  pass 
from  the  States  to  the  Federal  Congress,  and  the  Executive.  The  ablest 
tongues  and  pens  in  the  Union  were  brought  into  action  ;  and  it  was 
that  contest  which  combined  the  united  wisdom  of  Hamilton,  Jay,  and 
Madison,  in  the  Federalist — the  ablest  exposition  of  the  Constitution  that 
ever  has  been,  or,  perhaps,  ever  will  be  written. 

The  action,  however,  of  the  respective  States  was  slow.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  their  conventions  were  watched  with  absorbing  interest ;  and 
when  it  was  found  that  the  voice  of  New  York  would  turn  the  scale — 
the  Convention  being  in  session  in  Poughkeepsie — all  eyes  were 
eagerly  turned  toward  that  quarter.  The  chief  reason  of  New  York's 
reluctance  to  come  into  the  Constitutional  Union  was  the  fear — in  Adew 
of  the  rising  destiny  of  their  city  and  State — of  making  over  too  much  of 
their  local  power  to  the  central  government ;  especially  their  great  share 
of  revenue  from  imports,  and  their  commanding  position  between  New 
England  and  the  South  and  West.*  The  contest,  however,  was  not  long 
in  doubt.  Hamilton  redoubled  his  wonderful  efforts,  and  Livingston 
put  the  whole  energies  of  his  capacious  mind  in  requisition,  and  the 
FederaHsts  triumphed.  The  news  was  received  in  New  York  City  with 
unbounded  delight;  the  clubs  celebrated  the  event  with  dinners  and 
great  festivity,  and  the  citizens  gave  themselves  up  to  the  most  unequivocal 
evidences  of  gratification.  But  private  manifestations  of  the  public  feel- 
ing was  held  not  to  be  worthy  of  the  occasion,  and  no  time  was  lost  in 
concerting  the  necessary  measures  for  a  public  commemoration  of  the 
event,  upon  the  most  extensive  and  splendid  scale  that  the  public  means 

*  Dr.  Osgood's  New  York  in  the  Nineteenth  Century. 


165 

would  allow.  Nor  has  tlie  pageantry  of  any  American  celebration  since 
that  day — not  even  excepting  the  Atlantic  Cable  Celebration  of  1859 — 
excelled  it  in  the  ardor  of  its  enthusiasm,  or  in  the  splendor  of  its  effect. 
In  describing  the  procession  on  this  occasion,  Colonel  Stone  says : 

"  The  procession  was  organized  '  in  the  fields,'  above  the  city  ;  thence 
it  moved  down  Broadway  to  Great  Dock  street ;  thence  through  Hanover 
Square  and  Queen — now  Pearl  street — up  to  Chatham  ;  through  Chatham 
to  Division,  and  thence  across,  through  Bullock  street,  to  the  grounds 
surrounding  the  country  seat  of  Nicholas  Bayard,  near  the  present  junc- 
tion of  Broadway  and  Grand  street. 

A  volume  would  scarce  suffice  to  detail  the  particulars  necessary  to 
a  full  description  of  the  flags  and  emblems,  and  patriotic  decorations,, 
which  graced  the  many  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  this  brilliant  pageant 
— altogether  exceeding  anything  of  a  kindred  character  previously  ex- 
hibited in  the  New  World.  After  a  brilliant  military  escort  came  Captain 
Moore,  in  the  character  and  ancient  costume  of  Christopher  Columbus, 
preceded  and  followed  by  a  band  of  foresters,  with  axes,  suitably  appar- 
eled. The  next  division  consisted  of  a  large  number  of  farmers,  among 
whom  were  Nicholas  Cruger,  driving  a  six-ox  team,  and  the  present 
venerable  John  Watts  holding  a  plough.  All  the  implements  of  husbandry 
and  gardening  were  borne  in  the  procession,  and  the  Baron  Poelnitz 
attended  a  threshing-machine.  Their  horses  were  handsomely  caparisoned, 
and  led  by  boys  in  white  uniforms.  The  tailors  made  a  very  brilliant 
display  of  numbers,  uniforms,  and  decorations,  of  various  descriptions. 
In  the  procession  of  the  bakers  were  boys  in  beautiful  dresses,  represent- 
ing the  several  States,  with  roses  in  their  hands.  There  were  likewise 
an  equal  number  of  journeymen  in  appropriate  uniforms,  with  the  imple- 
ments of  the  calling,  and  a  loaf  of  bread  was  borne  in  the  procession  ten 
feet  long  and  three  wide,  on  which  were  inscribed  the  names  of  the  several 
States.  The  display  of  the  brewers  was  happily  conceived,  and  appro- 
priate. In  addition  to  their  banners  fluttering  gayly  in  the  air,  they 
paraded  cars  with  hogsheads  and  tuns,  decorated  with  festoons  of  bop- 
vines,  intertwined  with  handfuls  of  barley.  Seated  on  the  top  of  a  tun 
was  a  living  Bacchus — a  beautiful  boy  of  eight  years  old — dressed  in 
flesh-colored  silk,  fitted  snugly  to  the  limbs,  and  thus  disclosing  all  the 
fine  symmetrical  proportions  of  his  body.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  silver 
goblet,  with  which  he  quaffed  the  nut-brown,  and  on  his  head  was  a 
garland  of  hops  and  barley-ears.  The  coopers  appeared  in  great  numbers. 
Their  emblem  of  the  States  was  thirteen  boys,  each  thirteen  years  of  age, 
dressed  in  white,  with  green  ribands  at  their  ankles,  a  keg  under  their 
left  arms,  and  a  bough  of  white-oak  in  their  right  hands.  Upon  an 
immensely  large  car,  drawn  by  horses  appropriately  adorned,  the  coopers 
were  at  work.  They  had  a  broken  cask,  representing  the  old  confederacy, 
the  staves  of  which  all  their  skill  could  not  keep  together.     In  despair  at 


166 

the  repeated  nullification  which  their  work  experienced,  they  all  at  once 
betook  themselves  to  the  construction  of  an  entirely  new  piece  of  work. 
Their  success  was  complete,  and  a  fine,  tight,  iron-bound  keg  arose  from 
their  hand,  bearing  the  name  of  the  New  Constitution.  The  procession 
of  butchers  was  long,  and  their  appearance  highly  respectable.  Upon 
the  car  in  their  procession  was  a  roasted  ox,  of  a  thousand  pounds,  which 
was  given  as  a  sweet  morsel  to  the  hungry  multitude  at  the  close  of  the 
day.  The  car  of  the  sons  of  St.  Crispin  was  drawn  by  four  milk-white 
steeds,  beautifully  caparisoned.  The  tanners,  curriers,  and  peruke- 
makers  followed  next  in  order,  each  with  various  banners  and  significant 
emblems.  The  furriers,  from  the  novelty  of  their  display,  attracted  great 
attention.  It  was  truly  picturesque.  Their  marshal  was  followed  by  an 
Indian,  in  his  native  costume  and  armor,  as  though  coming  wild  from 
the  wilderness,  laden  with  raw  furs  lor  the  market.  A  procession  of 
journeymen  furriers  followed,  each  bearing  some  dressed  or  manufactured 
article.  These  were  succeeded  by  a  horse,  bearing  two  packs  of  furs,  and 
a  huge  bear  sitting  upon  each.  The  horse  was  led  by  an  Indian,  in  a 
beaver  blanket,  and  black  plumes  waving  upon  his  head.  In  the  rear 
came  one  of  their  principal  men,  dressed  in  a  superb  scarlet  blanket, 
wearing  an  elegant  cap  and  plumes,  and  smoking  a  tomahawk  pipe. 
After  these,  in  order,  marched  the  stone-masons,  bricklayers,  painters, 
and  glaziers,  cabinet  and  chair-makers,  musical-instrument  makers,  and 
the  upholsterers.  The  decorations  of  the  societies  vied  with  each  other 
in  taste  and  variety,  but  that  of  the  upholsterers  excelled.  The  federal 
chair  of  state  was  borne  upon  a  car  superbly  carpeted,  and  above  which 
was  a  rich  canopy,  nineteen  feet  high,  overlaid  with  deep  blue  satin,  hung 
with  festoons  and  fringes,  and  glittering  in  the  sun  as  with  '  barbaric 
pearl  and  gold.'  It  was  sufficiently  gorgeous  to  have  filled  the  eye  of  a 
Persian  emperor,  in  the  height  of  oriental  splendor  and  magnificence. 
Twelve  subdivisions  of  various  trades  succeeded  in  the  prescribed  order, 
after  which  came  the  most  imposing  part  of  the  pageant.  It  was  the 
federal  ship  Hamilton^  a  perfectly  constructed  frigate  of  thirty-two  guns, 
twenty-seven  feet  keel,  and  ten  feet  beam,  with  galleries  and  everything 
complete  and  in  proportion,  both  hull  and  rigging.  She  was  manned  by 
thirty  seamen  and  marines,  with  officers,  all  in  uniform,  and  commanded 
by  that  distinguished  Eevolutionary  veteran,  Commodore  Nicholson.  The 
ship  was  drawn  by  ten  horses  ;  and  in  the  progress  of  the  procession  went 
through  every  nautical  preparation  and  movement,  for  storms,  calms,  and 
squalls,  and  for  the  sudden  shifting  of  winds.  In  passing  Liberty  street, 
she  made  signal  for  a  pilot,  and  a  boat  came  off  and  put  one  on  board. 
On  arriving  before  Constable's  house,  Mrs.  Edgar  came  to  the  window, 
and  presented  the  ship  with  a  suit  of  rich  silk  colors ;  the  yards  were 
instantly  manned,  and  the  sailors  gave  three  hearty  cheers.  AVhen 
passing  Old  Slip,    a  Spanish   government  ship   gave   her   a   salute    of 


167 

thirteen  guns,  wliioh  was  returned  by  the  Hamilton  with  as  much  prompt- 
ness as  though  she  had  actually  been  a  ship  of  war  upon  the  wide  ocean. 
Next  after  the  ship  came  the  pilots,  and  the  Marine  Society.  To  these 
succeeded  the  printers,  bookbinders,  and  stationers,  led  by  those  veterans 
of  the  type  and  quill,  Hugh  Gaine  and  Samuel  Landon.  They  had  a  car, 
upon  which  the  printers  were  at  work ;  the  press  was  plied  briskly,  and 
impressions  of  a  patriotic  ode  distributed  as  they  were  taken  among  the 
multitude.  Their  banners  were  worthy  of  their  proud  vocation.  To  these 
succeeded  twenty-one  subdivisions,  of  as  many  different  trades,  each 
moving  under  its  own  banners ;  after  which  followed  the  learned  profes- 
sions and  the  literary  societies.  The  lawyers  were  preceded  by  John  Law- 
rence, Esq.,  supported  by  John  Cozine  and  Robert  Troup.  The  Philolog- 
ical Society,  headed  by  Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman,  Esq.,  the  president,  was 
the  next.  One  of  the  founders  of  this  Society  was  Noah  Webster,  LL.D. 
tho  great  American  lexicographer,  who  was  in  the  procession.  The 
standard  was  borne  by  William  Dunlap,  Esq.  These  three  gentlemen 
yet  survive.  The  officers  and  members  of  the  university  came  next,  and 
their  successors  were  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  merchants,  headed 
by  John  Broome,  president.  William  Maxwell,  vice-president  of  the 
Bank,  followed  in  a  chariot,  and  William  Laight,  the  secretary,  was 
mounted  upon  a  noble  steed.  Physicians,  strangers,  and  gentlemen  who 
were  members  of  Congress,  then  in  session  in  New  York,  closed  the  civic 
procession ;  and  the  whole  was  brought  up  by  a  detachment  of  artillery. 

The  procession  contained  nearly  five  thousand  people  ;  and  the  spec- 
tacle was  more  solemn  and  imposing,  and  more  truly  splendid,  than  had 
ever  before  been  presented  to  the  eye  of  man  on  the  American  Continent. 
It  was,  indeed,  a  pageant  of  indescribable  interest,  and  to  most,  of  double 
attraction ;  the  occasion  being  one  in  which  the  deepest  sympathies  were 
enlisted,  and  it  being  also  the  first  display  of  pomp  and  circumstance 
which  they  had  ever  witnessed.  The  whole  population  of  the  city  had 
given  themselves  up  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  occasion,  and  gladness,  in  all 
its  fullness,  was  depicted  in  every  countenance,  while  a  noble  enthusiasm 
swelled  every  bosom.  The  bond  of  union  was  complete,  and  every  man 
felt  as  though  his  country  had  been  rescued,  in  the  last  hour,  from  the 
most  imminent  peril. 

When  the  procession  reached  the  country  seat  of  Nicholas  Bayard,  a 
noble  banquet  was  found  already  spread  for  the  whole  assemblage  beneath 
a  grand  pavilion  temple,  covering  a  surface  of  eight  by  six  hundred  feet, 
with  plates  for  six  thousand  people.  This  splendid  rural  structure  had 
been  erected  in  the  short  space  of  four  days,  and  the  citizens  were 
indebted  for  it  to  the  taste  and  enterprise  of  Major  L'Enfant,  by  whom 
it  was  designed,  and  under  whose  direction  the  work  was  executed. 
The  two  principal  sides  of  the  building  consisted  of  three  large 
pavilions,  connected  by  a  colonnade  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 


168 

front,  and  forming  tTVO  sides  of  an  obtuse  angle;   the  middle  pavilion, 
rising  majestically  above  the  whole,  terminated  with  a  dome,  on  the  top 
of  which  was  Fame  and  her  trumpet,  proclaiming  a  new  era,  and  holding 
in  her  left  hand  the  Standard  of  the  United  States  and  a  roll  of  parch- 
ment, on  which  was  inscribed,  in  large  characters,  the  three  remarkable 
epochs  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution  :   the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
the  Alliance  with  France,  and  the  Peace  of  1783.     At  her  side  was  the 
American  eagle,  with  extended  wings,  resting  on  a  crown  of  laurel  gracing 
the  top  of  the  pedestal.     Over  six  of  the  principal  pillars  of  this  colonnade 
escutcheons  were  placed,  inscribed  with  the  ciphers  of  the  several  powers 
in  alliance  with  the  United  States,  viz. :  France,  Spain,  Sweden,  Prussia, 
Holland,  Morocco  ;   and  over  these  were  displayed  the  colors  of  these 
respective  nations,  which  added  greatly  to  the  brilliancy  of  the  entablature, 
already  decorated  with  festoons  and  branches  of  laurels.     The  extremities 
of  this  angle  were   joined    by   a  table  forming   part  of  a  circle,   and 
from  this  ten  more  colonnades  were  extended,  each  four  hundred  and 
forty  feet  in  length,  radiating  like  the  rays  of  a  circle ;  the  whole  having 
one  common  center,  which  was  also  the  center  of  the  middle  pavilion, 
where  sat  the  President  of  Congress.     At  the  extremity  of  each  colonaade 
was  a  pavilion,  nearly  similar  to  the  three  before  mentioned,  having  their 
outsides  terminated  in  a  pediment  crowned  with  escutcheons,  on  which 
were  inscribed  the  names  of  the  States  now  united.     The  whole  of  the 
colonnades  were  adorned  with  curtains  elegantly  folded,  and  with  wreaths 
and  festoons  of  laurels  dispersed  with  beautiful  and  tasteful  effect.     The 
various  bands  of  music  which  had  enlivened  the  march  of  the  procession 
were  concentrated  in  the  area  within  the  angle  first  described,  during  the 
banquet,  but  so  disposed  as  not  to  intercept  the  prospect  from  the  seat  of 
the  President,  through  the  whole  length  of  the  ten  colonnades.     The 
repast  concluded,  the  procession  was  reorganized,  and   marched  again 
into  the  city,  and  Avere  dismissed  at  the  Bowling  Green,  where  the  Federal 
ship  fired  a  closing  salute. 

Thus  passed  the  23d  of  July,  1788,  in  the  City  of  New  York — a  day 
which  deserves  to  be  remembered  by  the  patriot,  the  politician,  and  the 
philosopher,  as  that  on  which  the  people  of  the  first  city  in  the  western 
world  gave  simultaneously  the  strongest  and  most  enthusiastic  demon- 
stration of  their  attachment  to  the  great  principles  of  "  our  Federal 
Union,"  as  those  principles  were  understood  by  the  distinguished 
architects  who  formed  the  civil  structure.  On  that  occasion  all  narrow 
and  bigoted  distinctions  were  lost,  and  absorbed  in  that  noblest  of 
passions,  the  love  of  country,  and  the  determination  to  secure  and 
preserve  the  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.     Esio  rEiirprruA  ! 

The  winter  festivities  of  1788-89,  however,  were  succeeded  by 
matters  of  a  public  nature,  which  quickened  the  pulse  of  the  politician, 
and  excited  a  lively  degree  of  attention,  not  only  in  the  City  of  New 


1G9 

York,  but  throughout  the  borders  of  the  young  republic.  The  elections 
under  the  new  Constitution  had  been  held  ; — Washington — the  man  of 
all  others  '  first  in  tlie  hearts  of  his  countrymen' — had  been  spontaneously 
designated  by  the  people  as  their  first  Chief  Magistrate  under 
the  new  system ;  and  the  constituted  authorities  elect  were  about  to 
assemble,  in  New  York,  to  give  action  to  the  new  poUtical  machinery. 
Congress,  consisting  for  the  first  time  of  two  branches — a  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives — was  to  meet  on  the  4tli  day  of  March,  1789, 
and  the  thoughts  of  all  were  directed  with  deep  solicitude  to  the  period 
at  which  their  labors  were  to  be  commenced. 

The  day,  '  big  with  the  fate  of  Eome,'  at  length  arrived  ;  but  it 
brought  not  a  quorum  of  either  House  ;  for  although  the  men  of  those 
days  cannot  be  safely  charged  with  a  deficiency  of  patriotism,  yet  they 
had  no  sinister  or  ambitious  purposes  to  accomplish,  and  therefore  did 
not  assemble  in  organized  bodies  of  partisans  at  the  first  tap  of  the 
poHtical  drum.  Adjourning  over  from  day  to  day,  until  nearly  the  "  ides 
of  March"  had  arrived,  without  any  accession  being  made  to  their 
numbers;  on  the  11th  of  that  month,  the  Senators  present  jointly 
addressed  a  circular  letter  to  the  absentees,  urging  their  prompt  atten- 
tion to  assist  in  putting  the  government  into  operation.  The  request  was 
repeated  by  letter  on  the  18th. 

The  House  of  Representatives  was  similarly  circumstanced.  Only 
thirteen  members  appeared  on  the  day  appointed,  and  these  were  from 
the  five  States  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
and  South  Carolina — a  commonwealth,  which,  though  always  proud  and 
high-spirited,  was  then  as  anxious  to  come  into  the  Union,  as  she  seems 
since  to  have  been  to  break  out  of  it.  The  members  gathered  in  by 
degrees,  though  slowly,  and  the  House,  like  the  Senate,  adjourned  over 
daily,  until  the  1st  of  April,  when  a  quorum  appeared,  and  Frederick 
Augustus  Muhlenburgh,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  elected  Speaker.  Among 
the  most  distinguished  patriots  then  present  were  Roger  Sherman,  Pisher 
Ames,  Richard  Bland  Lee,  James  Madison,  Elias  Boudinot,  and  Thomas 
Tudor  Tucker. 

The  members  of  the  Senate  came  in  still  more  tardily  ;  but  on  the  6th 
of  April,  the  arrival  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  enabled  them  to 
form  a  quorum,  and  commence  their  labors.  John  Langdon  was  elected 
President  of  the  Senate,  pro  tem.^  and  Samuel  A.  Otis,  Secretary.  Both 
Houses  thus  being  organized,  they  proceeded  to  business — their  first  act 
being  to  canvass  the  votes  returned  for  President  and  Vice-President,  as 
prescribed  in  the  new  Constitution.  At  the  time  the  election  by  the  people 
was  held,  but  ten  States  had  placed  themselves  within  the  pale  of  the  new 
Constitution.  The  whole  number  of  votes  cast  was  sixty-nine ;  and  so 
entirely  did  the  Pather  of  his  Country  enjoy  the  aff'ection  of  his  children, 
that  -without  the  aid  of  caucuses,  or  nominating  conventions,  every  vote 


170 

\ras  given  for  Geoege  Washiis'gton.  '  If  we  look  over  tKe  catalogue  of 
the  first  magistrates  of  nations,  whether  they  have  been  denominated 
presidents  or  consuls,  kings  or  princes,  where  shall  we  find  one  whose 
commanding  talents  and  virtues,  whose  over-ruling  good  fortune,  have  so 
completely  united  all  hearts  and  voices  in  his  favor  ?  Who  enjoyed  the 
esteem  and  admiration  of  foreign  nations  and  his  fellow-citizens  with 
equal  unanimity  ?  Qualities  so  uncommon  are  no  common  blessing  to  the 
country  that  possesses  them.  But  it  was  by  these  great  qualities,  and; 
their  benign  effects,  that  Providence  had  marked  out  the  first  head  of  this 
great  nation,  with  a  hand  so  distinctly  visible,  as  to  have  been  seen  by  all 
men  and  mistaken  by  none.'  *  By  the  Constitution,  while  it  bore  the 
unadulterated  impress  of  the  wisdom  of  its  framers,  and  before  it  had  been 
impaired  by  amendment,  the  candidate  receiving  the  second  highest  num- 
ber of  votes  was  to  be  declared  the  Vice-President.  The  lot  fell  upon  one 
who,  during  the  whole  combat  of  the  Revolution,  had  been  in  the  halls  of 
legislation  what  his  illustrious  compeer  had  been  in  the  field — first  in  wis- 
dom and  foremost  in  action. f 

The  gratifying  result  having  been  thus  ascertained  agreeably  to  the 
constitutional  forms,  Charles  Thomson,  the  Secretary  of  the  old  Congress, 
was  dispatched  to  Mount  Vernon,  as  a  commissioner  to  notify  the  chief- 
tain of  his  election.  Meantime  a  discussion  arose  in  both  houses,  resulting 
in  an  irreconcilable  difference  between  them,  of  a  character  at  once  deli- 
cate and  interesting.  It  called  forth  great  talent,  and  first  awakened  those 
feelings  of  democratic  jealousy  and  distrust  of  titles  and  power,  of  which 
we  have  seen  so  much  since.  Not  that  our  modern  republicans  are 
opposed  jyer  se,  to  titles  of  a  subordinate  character,  since  for  this  species 
of  distinction  no  people  on  earth  appear  so  fond,  or  in  fact  enjoy  so 
much,  or  adhere  to  it  with  greater  tenacity.  Many  of  the  most  respect- 
able citizens  were  constant  listeners  to  the  debates  of  which  we  have  just 
been  speaking  ;  for  they  were  not  only  interested  in  the  principle  involved, 
but  loved  to  study  the  characters  of  those  noble  spirits  who  were  now 
assembled  to  consummate  the  revolution  which  their  wisdom  and  valor 
had  achieved,  by  reducing  the  discordant  members  of  the  republic  to 
order,  and  adjusting  the  details  of  a  government,  under  the  firm  but 
harmonious  action  of  which,  complicated  as  it  was,  it  was  hoped  the 
principles  of  civil  and  rehgious  freedom  would  for  ages  find  shelter  and 
protection.  The  question  at  issue  was  upon  the  adoption  of  some  respect- 
ful title  by  which  the  President  of  the  United  States  should  be  addressed 
in  their  ofiicial  intercourse  with  him.     The  first  proposition  in  the  Senate 


*  Inaugural  Address  of  the  first  Vice-President — the  elder  Adams. 

f  The  votes  stood  as  follows — G-eorge  Washington,  C9 ;  John  Adams,  84 ;  John 
Jay,  9  ;  Robert  H.  Harrison,  C ;  John  E-utledge,  0  ;  John  Hancock,  4 ;  George  Clinton, 
o ;  Samuel  Huntington,  2  ;  John  Milton,  2 ;  and  one  each  for  James  Armstrong, 
Edward  Telfair,  and  Benjamin  Lincoln. 


171 

was,  that  the  official  address  should  be  *  His  Excellency.'  But  this  was 
not  considered  as  sufficiently  elevated.  It  was  at  length  determined  by 
that  body,  that  the  address  should  be — '  His  Highness  the  President 
or  THE  United  States,  and  the  Protectoe  of  their  Liberties.'  But  the 
House  of  Pepresentatives  obstinately  refused  to  sanction  any  title  what- 
ever, and  declared  that  the  constitutional  address — '  To  the  President,' 
— was  the  only  title  which,  as  consistent  republicans,  they  could  sanction. 
Committees  of  conference  were  appointed,  but  to  no  purpose.  The 
indomitable  spirit  of  the  House  of  Pepresentatives  was  not  to  be  moved. 
The  Senate  finally  resolved  '  that  it  would  be  proper  to  address  the  Presi- 
dent by  some  respectful  title  ;  but,  for  the  sake  of  harmony,  they  would 
for  the  present  act  in  conformity  with  the  House  of  Pepresentatives.' 
And  thus  the  matter  has  rested  to  this  day. 

Summoned  by  the  worthy  messenger  of  Congress  to  repair  to  the 
seat  of  government  and  assume  the  high  trust  which  had  been  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  people,  the  progress  of  the  President  elect,  from  the 
shades  of  Vernon  to  New  York,  was  like  a  triumphant  procession  along 
the  whole  distance.  At  Philadelphia  he  was  met  by  Governor  St.  Clair, 
General  Mifflin,  and  other  distinguished  citizens,  with  the  most  rapturous 
enthusiasm.  A  grand  banquet  was  prepared,  of  which  he  partook,  and 
addresses  were  presented  to  him  from  all  classes  of  the  people,  expressive 
of  their  gratitude  for  his  past  services,  their  joy  for  his  present  elevation, 
and  their  confidence  in  his  future  administration.  As  he  passed  through 
the  streets,  the  welkin  rang  with  their  joyous  acclamations,  and  shouts 
of  '  Long  live  George  Washington,  the  father  of  his  people,'  resounded 
from  thousands  of  voices.  But  however  flattering  would  have  been 
these  spontaneous  marks  of  popular  affection  to  ordinary  mortals,  the 
conduct  of  the  great  chief  on  the  occasion  illustrated  the  republican 
virtue  of  dignified  humility,  and  showed  how  excellent  is  glory  when 
earned  by  virtue.  Instead  of  assuming  the  pomp  of  royalty,  or  of  any 
personal  superiority,  he  sought  throughout  to  prove  himself,  not  only  the 
friend  of  the  people,  but  one  of  them. 

An  escort  attended  him  from  the  hospitable  city  of  Penn,  until  he 
was  received  by  the  citizens  of  Trenton,  into  which  place  he  was  conducted 
by  the  civil  and  military  authorities  of  New  Jersey,  with  every  patriotic 
demonstration  of  respect  and  joy.  This  place  had  been  rendered  memor- 
able by  the  capture  of  the  Hessians,  and  by  the  repulse  of  the  British 
troops  near  the  bridge  over  the  Delaware,  the  night  before  the  battle  of 
Trenton.  PecoUecting  these  circumstances,  the  ladies  of  that  city  formed 
and  executed  the  design  of  testifying  their  gratitude  to  the  chieftain  for 
the  protection  of  their  daughters,  by  celebratipg  those  actions  in  their 
pageant.  For  this  purpose  a  triumphal  arch  was  raised  on  the  bridge, 
of  twenty  feet  span,  supported  by  thirteen  pillars,  each  of  which  was 
entwined   with   wreaths   of  evergreens.     The    arch   was   covered    with 


172 

branches  of  laurel,  and  decorated  on  the  inside  with  evergreens  and 
flowers.  Suitable  inscriptions  were  tastefully  disposed,  intertwined  with 
flowers  of  various  hues.  On  the  center  of  the  arch  above,  stood  a  dome 
bearing  the  dates  of  the  glorious  actions  referred  to,  inscribed  in  letters 
of  gold,  and  enwreathed  with  flowers.  The  summit  of  the  dome  displayed 
a  large  sun-flower,  which,  directing  to  the  sun,  signified,  in  the  language 
of  Flora,  "  To  you  alone  " — an  emblem  of  the  unanimity  of  the  people  in 
his  favor.  Assembled  beneath  the  arch  were  many  ladies,  surrounded 
by  their  daughters,  to  welcome  their  former  deliverer  and  defender.  As 
the  chieftain  passed  beneath  the  arch,  a  choir  of  girls,  dressed  in  white, 
and  crowned  with  wreaths  and  chaplets  of  flowers,  sung  a  sonata  composed 
for  the  occasion,  commencing — 

"  Welcome  mighty  chief  once  more." — 

Each  of  the  white-robed  misses  carried  a  basket  of  flowers,  which,  as  the 
concluding  line — 

"  Strew  your  hero's  way  with  flowers," — 

were  scattered  in  his  path  as  he  advanced.  The  pageant  was  simple  and 
beautiful ;  and  the  General  returned  thanks  for  the  compliment  in  a  card 
which  was  published  at  the  time,  and  in  which  the  white-robed  maidens 
were  particularly  mentioned. 

Thence  to  Elizabethtown,  the  journey  of  the  chieftain  was  a  con- 
tinued pageant,  in  which  no  means  were  left  untried  by  the  people  to 
testify  their  attachment  to  the  ruler  of  their  choice.  A  t  this  point,  prepa- 
rations had  been  made  to  receive  their  iUustrious  fellow-citizen  by  the 
authorities  of  New  York.  A  splendid  barge,  constructed  for  the  occasion, 
and  elegantly  decorated,  had  been  dispatched  thither  to  receive  the 
beloved  soldier  and  statesman,  in  a  manner  corresponding  with  his 
exalted  character,  and  the  dignity  of  the  station  he  was  about  to  fill.  The 
barge  was  rowed  by  thirteen  masters  of  vessels,  Thomas  Randall,  Esq., 
acting  as  cockswain,  and  commanded  by  Commodore  Nicholson.  A 
deputation  from  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  together  with 
the  Chancellor  of  the  State,  the  Adjutant-General,  and  the  Recorder  of 
of  the  City,  proceeded  to  Elizabethtown  in  the  barge,  which  was  accom- 
panied by  two  others,  one  being  occupied  by  the  Board  of  the  Treasury, 
and  the  other  by  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Aff'airs  and  the  Secretary  of 
AVar. 

The  embarkation  took  place  on  the  morning  of  April  23d — as  clear 
and  beautiful  a  day  as  could  have  been  desired.  A  salvo  of  artillery 
announced  the  departure  of  the  flotilla  from  the  Jersey  shore,  and  the 
spectacle,  as  the  fleet  of  boats  which  had  joined  the  procession  emerged 
from  the  narrow  pass  of  the  Kills  into  the  noble  bay  of  New  York,  was 
of  the  most  animating  description.     From  every  point,  the  smaller  craft 


173 

of  all  kinds  and  degrees,  sped  tlieir  way  thither  to  join  in  the  fleet.  All 
the  flags  and  nautical  decorations  upon  which  hands  could  be  laid  for  the 
occasion,  were  put  in  requisition,  and  were  now  fluttering  in  the  breeze, 
as  the  thousand  boats  danced  hghty  over  the  blue  waters,  and  the  many 
thousands  of  oars,  briskly  plied,  flashed  in  the  sunbeams,  as  with  every 
stroke  they  were  lifted  from  the  foam.  Every  ship  in  the  harbor  was 
gayly  dressed  for  the  occasion,  excepting  the  Galveston,  a  Spanish  man- 
of-war,  which  lay  at  anchor,  displaying  only  her  own  proper  colors.  The 
contrast  which  she  presented  when  compared  with  the  splendid  flags  and 
streamers  floating  from  every  other  vessel  in  the  bay,  especially  the 
government  ship,  the  North  Carolina^  was  universally  observed,  and  the 
neglect  was  beginning  to  occasion  unpleasant  remarks  ;  when,  as  the 
barge  of  the  General  came  abreast,  in  an  instant,  as  if  by  magic,  the 
Spaniard  displayed  every  flag  and  signal  known  among  nations.  This 
handsome  compliment  was  accompanied  by  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns. 
Salutes  were  also  fired  from  the  North  Carolina  and  the  Battery,  of 
thirteen  guns  each. 

Stairs  for  the  landing  of  the  chieftain  had  been  prepared  upon  Murray's 
Wharf,  on  arriving  at  which  a  salute  was  fired  by  a  detachment  of  artil- 
lery commanded  by  Captain  Van  Dyck.  He  was  there  received  by 
Governor  Clinton,  who  made  a  congratulatory  address  on  the  occasion, 
together  with  the  principal  officers  of  the  State,  and  the  Mayor  and  Cor- 
poration of  the  city.  There  was  a  very  large  assemblage  of  people  at  the 
dock,  waiting  anxiously — but  not  impatiently — for  the  moment  when 
they  could  greet  the  arrival  of  the  great  object  of  their  proudest  hopes 
and  affections,  and  gratify  their  desires  of  looking — many  of  them  again, 
and  many  others  for  the  first  time — upon  that  noble  form  and  godlike 
countenance.  There  was  no  crowding  for  rank,  or  struggle  for  places, 
but  all  were  respectful  and  decorous  in  their  demeanor.  One  old  man, 
whose  head  was  frosted  by  upward  of  seventy  winters,  standing  upon 
the  wharf,  was  particularly  noted  as  laboring  under  deep  and  evident 
emotion.  He  succeec'ed  in  grasping  the  hand  of  the  chieftain,  and,  as 
he  passed  along,  audibly  but  involuntarily  expressed  himself  as  follows  : — 
'  I  have  beheld  him  when  commanding  the  American  armies  ;  I  saw  him 
at  the  conclusion  of  peace,  returning  to  the  bosom  of  his  family  in  his 
primeval  habitation ;  and  now  I  behold  him  returring  to  take  the  chair 
of  the  Presidentship.  I  have  not  now  another  wish  but  that  he  may  die 
as  he  has  lived,  the  beloved  of  his  country  !' 

From  tlie  landing,  the  chief  was  conducted  by  a  numerous  proces- 
sion, civil  and  military,  through  Queen  street  to  the  quarters  of  Governor 
Clinton,  in  the  large  and  ancient  structure  yet  standing  in  Pearl  street, 
near  the  intersection  of  Pine.*     The  military  portion  of  the  procession 

*  Now  called  the  Uuited  States  Hotel. 


174 

consisted  of  Captain  Stokes'  dragoons,  Captain  Yan  Dyck's  artillery,  the 
German  Guards  of  Captain  Scriba,  a  detachment  of  infantry  under  Cap- 
tains Swartwout  and  Steddiford,  and  the  artillery  of  Colonel  Bauman. 
Next  came  the  Corporation,  with  the  public  officers  ;  the  President  elect 
walked  with  Governor  Clinton,  his  old  companion  in  arms.  The  clergy 
followed  in  a  body.  The  foreign  ambassadors  in  their  carriages  came 
next,  and  the  citizens  promiscuously  brought  up  the  rear.  The  whole 
were  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Morgan  Lewis  (who  yet  survives, 
full  of  years  and  honors),  marshal  of  the  day,  assisted  by  Majors  Morton 
and  Van  Horne,  the  former  of  whom  is  yet  the  active  Major-General  of 
the  New  York  artillery. 

The  day  was  one  of  unmingled  joy.  No  former  event  of  a  civic 
character  had  more  deeply  arrested  the  public  attention.  The  hand  of 
labor  was  suspended,  and  the  various  pleasures  of  the  city  were  concen- 
trated into  a  single  enjoyment.  All  ranks  and  professions,  with  one 
universal  acclaim,  joined  in  the  loud  welcome  to  '  The  Father  of  his 
Country.'  The  city  was  illuminated  in  the  evening ;  and  many  beautiful 
and  appropriate  transparencies  were  exhibited,  creditable  at  once  to  the 
citizens  who  displayed  them  and  to  the  artists  by  whom  they  were 
executed. 

The  30th  day  of  April,  1789,  was  appointed  by  Congress  for  the 
august  ceremony  of  inducting  the  first  President  of  our  Federal  Union 
into  his  exalted  station.  Pursuant  to  previous  notice  and  concert,  all  the 
churches  in  the  city  were  opened  at  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  that 
day,  and  their  respective  congregations  repaired  to  them,  to  unite  in 
imploring  the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  the  new  government.  In  these 
enlightened  days,  when  chaplains  are  voted  out  of  legislative  halls  from  a 
sensitive  regard  to  the  rights  of  conscience  and  the  people's  money,  it 
may,  perhaps,  appear  strange  that  such  a  concerted  ceremony  should 
have  preceded  the  other  duties  of  the  day.  But  the  truth  is,  our  Pevolu- 
tionary  forefathers  were  a  race  of  men  siii  generis^  and  they  had  a  way  of 
doing  things  peculiar  to  themselves.  They  were  in  the  habit  of  imploring 
the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  all  their  important  undertakings,  and  of 
returning  thanks  for  all  signal  blessings  ;  and  at  the  time  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Federal  Government,  the  march  of  mind  had  not  yet  been 
so  rapid  as  altogether  to  have  left  this  custom  in  forge tfulness. 

At  twelve  o'clock  a  procession  was  formed  under  the  conduct  of 
Colonel  Lewis,  consisting  of  the  same  detachments  of  the  State  troops 
which  had  been  detailed  for  the  reception  of  the  President  elect  on  his 
landing.  The  President's  house  was  then  in  Cherry  street,  a  few  doors 
from  Franklin  Square — which  was  at  that  period  the  court  end  of  the 
town.  The  procession  moved  thence  through  Queen,  Great  Dock  and 
Broad  streets,  until  they  arrived  in  front  of  the  building  called  Federal 
Hall — it  having  been  determined  that  the  ceremony  of  administering  the 


175 

oath  sliould  take  place  in  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  Senate  Chamber, 
which  was  on  the  second  story  of  the  building,  and  in  full  view  of  the 
people  who  should  assemble  in  Wall  and  Broad  streets  as  spectators 
Stopping  at  the  proper  distance,  the  procession  was  divided  into  two 
parallel  lines,  facing  inwardly,  and  the  '  observed  of  all  observers  '■  passed 
through  with  stately  and  solemn  tread,  attended  by  John  Jay,  General 
Knox,  Chancellor  Livingston,  and  other  distinguished  gentlemen.  They 
were  conducted  first  to  the  Senate  Chamber,  where  the  President  elect 
was  introduced  to  both  Houses,  assembled  in  convention  to  receive  him. 
Thence  the  illustrious  individual  was  conducted  to  the  gallery  or  terrace 
before  mentioned,  overlooking  the  two  streets  in  which  the  multitude  had 
assembled. 

As  the  building  under  whose  lofty  pediment  this  imposing  scene  was 
exhibited  has  been  so  long  swept  from  the  face  of  the  earth  that  few  of 
the  present  generation  have  any  distinct  recollection  of  it,  a  description 
of  it  may  aid  our  attempt  to  depict  the  sublime  ceremony,  which  it  is  the 
principal  design  of  the  present  chapter  to  bring  before  the  reader.  On 
the  site  of  the  old  City  Hall,  which  had  served  the  pro\dncials  for  a 
Court -House,  and  was  a  mean,  unsightly  object,  projecting  awkwardly 
into  Wall  street  from  the  north,  a  noble  edifice  had  been  erected  for  the 
accommodation  of  Congress,  on  a  plan  and  under  the  direction  of  ^lonsieur 
L'Enfant,  a  French  architect,  at  that  time  in  high  repute,  whose  name 
we  had  occasion  to  mention  in  a  preceding  page.  This  building,  like  the 
first,  projected  into  Wall  street,  but  permitted  foot-passengers  to  continue 
their  promenades  through  an  arched  way.  Over  this  arcade  was  a 
balcony,  the  pediment  projecting  over,  which  was  supported  by  four 
massive  Doric  pillars,  dividing  the  open  space  into  three  parts,  and  form- 
ing an  area  similar  in  that  respect  to  the  divisions  in  Raphael's  'Beautiful 
Gate  of  the  Temple.'  After  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  this  build- 
ing was  called  Federal  Hall.*  Its  front  was  upon  Broad  street,  which 
was  terminated  by  it.  Persons  on  the  balcony  would  consequently  be  in 
full  view  from  that  street ;  and  it  was  there,  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
Hall,  that  a  few  select  spectators  took  their  stand. 

The  volunteer  companies  of  infantry  were  paraded  in  front  of  the 
Hall  on  Wall  street.  A  troop  of  horse,  uniformed  and  equipped  much 
after  the  manner  of  Lee's  and  Sheldon's  dragoons  (as  may  be  seen  in 
the  picture  of  Jack  Laughton,  the  hero  of  Cooper's  '  Spy,'  as  painted  by 
our  distinguished  countryman,  Dunlap),  were  prominent  figures.  Of  the 
foot-soldiers,  the  most  conspicuous  were  two  companies  of  grenadiers, 
one  of  which  was  composed  of  the  tallest  youths  of  the  city,  and  the 
other  was  the  company  of  Germans,  commanded  by  Captain  Scriba, 
many  of  whom  had  been  the   slaves  of  the  Prince  of  Hesse  Cassel,  and 

*In  later  years,  succeeded  by   the  Custom-House,     which  is  now   (18G8)  the 
United  States  Sub-Treasury. 


176 

other  petty  sovereigns  in  the  German  states,  but  who  now  gloried  in  the 
liberty  purchased  for  them,  and  secured  to  them  by  those  whom  they  had 
been  forced  from  their  own  country  to  assist  in  subduing.  The  first  were 
dressed  in  blue,  with  red  facings  and  gold-laced  ornaments,  cocked  hats 
•with  white  feathers,  with  waistcoats  and  breeches,  and  black  gaiters  or 
spatterdashes,  close  buttoned  from  the  shoe  to  the  knee,  and  covering  the 
shoe-buckle.  The  second,  or  German  company,  wore  blue  coats,  with 
yellow  waistcoats  and  breeches,  black  gaiters,  similar  to  those  already 
described,  and  towering  caps,  cone-shaped,  and  faced  with  black  bear- 
skin. A  company  in  the  full  uniform  of  Scotch  Highlanders,  with  the 
national  music  of  the  bagpipe,  were  seen  among  the  military  of  the  day, 
as  also  were  several  well  disciplined  and  well  equipped  corps  of  light 
infantry  and  artillery.  Colonel  Lewis,  the  Marshal,  was  assisted  by 
Major  Morton,  acting  aid-de-camp,  as  on  the  occasion  of  the  landing  one 
week  before. 

Both  Houses  of  Congress  having  left  their  respective  chambers  to 
witness  the  ceremony,  now  quite  filled  the  balcony  and  the  space  behind 
it.  Every  part  of  the  building  was  thronged.  From  the  balcony  the 
view  of  Broad  street  was  as  of  one  mass,  a  silent  and  expectant  throng ; 
with  faces  upturned  they  gazed  upon  the  great  object  of  their  regard,  as 
he  came  forth  from  the  interior  of  the  Hall,  and  took  his  place  in  the 
center  of  the  balcony,  between  the  two  pillars  which  formed  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  middle  compartment  of  the  picture.  He  made  his  appear- 
ance in  a  plain  suit  of  brown  cloth,  coat,  waistcoat,  and  breeches,  white 
silk  stockings,  and  buckles  of  the  simplest  fashion  in  his  shoes,  and 
every  article  of  his  dress  was  of  American  manufacture.*  His  head  was 
uncovered,  his  hair  powdered  and  dressed  in  the  prevailing  fashion  of 
that  day,  completed  the  costume  in  which  his  tall,  fine  figure  was  pre- 
sented to  view,  at  the  moment  which  formed  that  epoch  in  the  history  of 
nations. 

John  Adams,  the  Vice-President,  who  had  a  few  days  previously  been 
inducted  into  office  without  parade  in  the  Senate,  a  short,  athletic  figure, 
in  a  somewhat  similar  garb,  but  with  the  old-fashioned  Massachusetts 
wig,  dressed  and  powdered,  stood  upon  the  right  of  the  chieftain.  Roger 
Sherman  was  seen  in  the  group,  a  little  behind,  standing  with  Hamilton, 
and  many  other  sages  and  warriors,  among  whom  was  the  American 
artillerist,  Knox,  and  the  accomplished  Baron  Steuben. 

Opposite  to  the  President  elect  stood  Chancellor  Livingston,  in  a  full 
suit  of  black,  ready  to  administer  the  oath  of  office.  Between  them  the 
Secretary  of  the  Senate,  a  small,  short  man,  held  the  open  Bible  upon  a 
rich  crimson  cushion.     The  man  on  whom  all  eyes  were  fixed,  stretched 


*  It  is  a  fact  that  Washington  and  Adams  were  entirely  clad  in  American 
fabrics  on  the  occasion  here  described. 


177 

forth  his  hand  with  simplicity  and  dignity.  The  oath  of  office  was 
-administered.  The  Bible  was  raised,  and  his  head  bowed  upon  it  to 
kiss  the  sacred  volume.  The  Chancellor  then  proclaimed  that  it  was 
done,  in  a  full  distinct  voice,  and  in  the  following  words  :  '  Long  live 
Geoege  Washixgtox,  Presidext  of  the  Uxited  States  I'  The  silence 
of  thousands  was  at  an  end — the  air  was  rent  with  acclamations,  dictated 
by  reason,  and  bursting  from  the  hearts  and  tongues  of  men  who  felt 
that  the  happiness  of  themselves,  their  posterity,  and  their  country  was 
secured. 

The  President  bowed  and  retired  to  the  Hall  of  the  Representatives, 
where  the  Senate  also  assembled,  and  he  delivered  his  inaugural  speech. 
Thence,  the  President,  accompanied  by  the  Vice-President,  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  the  members  of  both  Houses, 
repaired  in  procession  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  where  Divine  service  was 
performed  by  Bishop  Provost,  the  Chaplain  of  the  Senate  ;  and  before 
the  adjournment  of  Congress,  they  passed  a  resolution  requesting  the 
President  to  issue  his  proclamation,  recommending  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  to  observe  a  day  of  thanksgiving  and  prayer,  on  account  of 
the  successful  organization  of  the  new  government.  Strange  to  say, 
although  Washington  himself  had  been  the  President  of  the  Convention 
which  formed  the  Constitution,  he  had  not  discovered  that  such  an  act 
was  unconstitutional !  He  issued  the  proclamation,  and  the  day  was 
observed  by  the  people  accordingly.  But  we,  of  the  present  generation 
having  had  more  time  to  study  that  instrument,  know  better  its  true 
intent  and  meaning  than  those  who  made  it — not  only  on  religious  sub- 
jects, but  divers  and  sundry  others. 

To  return  from  this  digression,  however — such  was  the  spectacle  ; 
so  simple,  so  dignified  was  this  august  ceremony  !  Contrast  it  with  the 
impious  mockery  of  Heaven  and  the  degrading  pageantry  displayed  to 
mislead  the  children  of  earth,  which  attends  the  coronation  of  European 
potentates,  and  every  American  must  feel  proud,  and  justly  proud,  when 
he  contemplates  the  picture  it  presents  of  the  institutions  and  manners  of 
his  own  country  1  '  It  seemed,'  said  a  young  gentleman  in  a  letter  to  a 
distant  father,  'to  be  a  solemn  appeal  to  Heaven  and  earth  at  once. 
Upon  the  subject  of  this  great  and  good  man,'  he  added,  '  I  may, 
perhaps,  be  an  enthusiast ;  but  I  confess  I  was  under  an  awful  and 
religious  persuasion  that  the  Gracious  Buler  of  the  Universe  was  look- 
ing down  at  that  moment  with  peculiar  complacency  upon  an  act  which, 
to  the  American  portion  of  his  creatures,  was  so  very  important.  Under 
this  impression,  when  the  distinguished  Chancellor  of  New  York 
announced,  in  a  very  feehng  manner,  the  words  Long  live  George 
Washington,  my  sensibility  was  wound  up  to  such  a  pitch,  that  I  could 
do  no  more  than  wave  my  hat  with  the  rest,  without  the  power  of  joining 
in  the  repeated  acclamations  which  rent  the  air.' 
12 


178 

The  proceedings  of  the  day  had  all  been  marked  by  that  gravity  and 
solemnity  belitting  the  importance  of  the  occasion.  It  was,  however,  a  day 
of  unmingled  rejoicing ;  and  after  the  more  imposing  civic  and  religious 
ceremonies  were  over,  the  popular  feeling  broke  forth  in  the  usual  mani- 
festations of  gladness.  The  festivities  closed  by  an  illumination  in  the 
evening  of  unparalleled  splendor,  and  by  a  display  of  fireworks  under  the 
direction  of  Colonel  Bauman,  of  the  artillery,  which  had  only  been  equaled 
on  this  side  the  Atlantic  by  the  memorable  pyrotechnical  exhibition  which 
took  place  at  West  Point  during  the  Revolution,  when  our  French  allies 
were  celebrating  the  birth  of  the  Dauphin — the  unfortunate  youn.-; 
prince  who  subsequently,  after  his  father's  execution,  himself  fell  a  victim 
to  that  spirit  of  freedom  which  those  French  officers  imbibed  in  this 
country,  and  which  running  to  riot  after  their  return,  drenched  the 
whole  surface  of  France  in  blood. 

Great  pains  had  been  taken  by  the  principal  citizens  and  the  public 
authorities  in  the  preparation  of  appropriate  transparencies.  At  the  foot 
of  Broadway  a  splendid  painting  was  exhibited,  representing  the  Virtues 
of  Fortitude,  Justice,  and  Wisdom,  intended  as  emblems,  the  first  of  the 
President,  the  second  of  the  Senate,  and  the  third  of  the  House  of 
Bepresentatives.  Of  the  propriety  of  the  first  the  world  had  had  the 
fullest  evidence  ;  and  the  two  others  were  well  applied  then,  however 
great  would  be  the  solecism  of  such  an  appropriation  of  those  attributes 
in  later  and  more  degenerate  days.  The  Federal  Hall  was  illuminated 
with  great  splendor,  and  attracted  universal  attention.  The  Theater, 
then  situated  at  the  corner  of  Fly-Market  SHp,  was  likewise  tastefully 
illuminated  by  various  patriotic  and  attractive  paintings.  The  ship  North 
Carolina,  lying  off  the  Battery,  displayed  a  glorious  pyramid  of  stars, 
lustrous  and  beautiful  as  the  lamps  of  heaven. 

The  illuminations  of  private  residences  which  attracted  the  greatest 
attention,  were  those  of  the  French  and  Spanish  Ministers — the  Count 
Moustier  and  Don  Gardoqui.  These  Ministers  both  felt  a  Hvely  interest 
in  the  rising  destinies  of  the  young  republic,  and  lost  no  suitable  occa- 
sion for  testifying  their  friendship.  Their  houses  were  situated  in  Broad- 
way, near  the  Bowling  Green,  and  they  seem  to  have  exerted  a  generous 
rivalship  in  their  preparations  for  celebrating  this  event.  The  illumina- 
tions of  both  were  in  a  style  of  elegance  and  splendor  alike  novel,  attrac- 
tive, and  beautiful.  The  doors  and  windows  of  Count  Moustier  displayed 
splendid  borderings  of  lamps,  with  fancy  pieces  in  each  window  of  tasteful 
and  complimentary  designs.  But  the  decorations  of  the  Spaniard's  mansion 
excelled.  The  tout  ensemble  formed  a  superbly  brilliant  front.  The  prin- 
cipal transparency  represented  the  figures  of  the  Graces,  exceedingly  well 
executed,  among  a  pleasing  variety  of  patriotic  emblems,  together  with 
shrubbery,  arches,  flowers,  and  fountains.  The  efi'ect  was  greatly  height- 
ened by  the  disposition  of  moving  pictures  of  persons  and  figures  in  the 


179 

background,  so  skillfully  cle\ased  and  executed  as  to  present  the  illusion 
of  a  li^dng  panorama  in  a  little  sj^ot  of  fairy  land. 

But  we  ^vill  not  dwell  too  long  upon  the  incidents  of  this  joyful 
evening,  as  other  objects  crowd  upon  our  attention.  The  inauguration 
was  succeeded  by  a  round  of  jete^  of  a  different  description,  the  recollec- 
tion of  which  it  is  our  design  briefly  to  revive,  before  concluding  the 
present  chapter  of  reminiscences. 

For  several  subsequent  days,  the  time  of  the  President  was  much 
occupied  in  receiving  visits,  official  and  unofficial,  of  individuals,  societies, 
and  public  bodies,  calling  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  first  magistrate. 
In  all  instances,  their  reception  was  such  as  still  more  to  endear  the 
illustrious  man  in  their  affections ;  for  although  inured  to  the  camp,  and 
in  earlier  life  to  the  still  rougher  service  of  border  warfare  in  the  wilder- 
ness, no  one  could  dispense  the  courtesies  of  the  drawing-room,  or  the 
ceremonies  of  state  with  more  true  dignity,  blended  with  a  just  measure 
of  affability  and  condescension,  than  Washington. 

Extensive  preparations  had  been  made  by  the  subscribers  to  the  city 
dancing  assemblies,  to  pay  the  President  the  compliment  of  an  inaugu- 
ration ball.  The  honored  lady  of  the  chieftain,  however,  had  not  accom- 
panied her  august  husband  to  New  York,  but  was  to  follow  in  a  few 
days.  The  anxiety  for  her  arrival  was,  therefore,  great,  though  of 
course  proportionably  less  than  it  had  been  for  the  President  elect  him- 
self. But  a  short  time  intervened  before  her  approach  to  Elizabethtown 
was  announced,  accompanied  by  the  lady  of  Eobert  Morris,  of  Philadel- 
phia— then  in  the  Federal  Senate.  She  was  met  by  the  President  at  Ehza- 
bethtown  Point,  who  proceeded  thither,  with  Eobert  Morris  and  several 
other  gentlemen  of  distinction,  in  the  barge  already  described,  rowed,  as 
before,  by  thirteen  eminent  pilots,  in  handsome  white  dresses.  The 
passage  through  the  bay  again  presented  a  brilliant  spectacle  ;  a  salute 
was  fired  on  passing  the  Battery,  and  on  her  landing  she  was  welcomed 
by  crowds  of  citizens  who  had  assembled  to  testify  their  joy. 

The  ball  was  truly  an  elegant  entertainment,  and  is  recollected  as 
such  by  a  few  who  yet  survive  of  the  brilliant  circle  that  graced  it.  The 
old  'City  Assembly  Eooms,'  in  which  it  took  place,  was  in  a  large  wooden 
building  standing  upon  the  site  of  the  present  City  Hotel.  In  addition 
to  the  distinguished  pair  for  whom  it  was  given,  it  was  honored  by  the 
Vice-President,  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  most  of  the  members  of 
both  branches  of  Congress  ;  Governor  (George)  Clinton,  Chancellor  Liv- 
ingston, Chief- Justice  Yates,  of  New  York ;  the  Hon.  John  Jay,  General 
Knox,  the  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury,  James  Duane,  Mayor  of  the 
city;  the  Baron  Steuben,  General  Hamilton,  the  French  and  Spanish 
Ambassadors,  and  many  other  distinguished  gentlemen,  both  Americans 
and  foreigners.  Never  was  a  lady,  either  in  public  or  private  life,  more 
popular  than  Mrs.  Washington,  and  from  the  moment  of  her  arrival,  the 


180 

most  respectful  attentions  liad  been  paid  to  her  by  the  principal  ladies  of 
the  city,  and  by  those  likewise  of  celebrity  from  a  distance.  A  numerous 
and  brilliant  collection  of  ladies  consequently  graced  the  saloon  with  their 
presence,  and  the  decorations  were  such  as  in  all  respects  comported  with 
their  presence  and  the  proud  occasion.  Among  the  leading  circle  were 
the  lady  of  his  Excellency  Governor  Clinton,  Lady  Sterling,  Lady  Mary 
Watts,  Lady  Kitty  Duer,  La  Marchioness  de  Brehan,  Mrs.  Langdon,  Mrs. 
Dalton,  Mrs.  Duane  (the  Mayoress),  Mrs.  Peter  Van  Brook  Livingston, 
Mrs.  Livingston,  of  Clermont ;  Mrs.  Chancellor  Livingston,  the  Misses 
Livingston,  Lady  Temple,  Madame  de  la  Forest,  Mrs.  Montgomery,  Mrs. 
Knox,  Mrs.  Thomson,  Mrs.  Gerry,  Mrs.  Edgar,  Mrs.  McComb,  Mrs.  Lynch, 
Mrs.  Houston,  Mrs.  Griffin,  Mrs.  Provost,  the  Misses  Bayard,  and  many 
others  of  the  most  respectable  families  in  the  State  and  from  abroad.  The 
whole  number  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  eit  the  fete  exceeded  three  hundred. 

There  was  more  of  etiquette  in  the  arrangements  for  this  compli- 
mentary ball  than  was  thought  by  some  to  be  exactly  consistent  with  our 
republican  institutions,  and  more,  in  fact,  than  was  altogether  agreeable 
to  the  feelings  of  him  in  whose  honor  it  was  observed.  In  connection 
with  the  managers  of  the  assembhes.  Colonel  Humphries  and  Colonel 
WiUiam  S.  Smith  were  selected  to  adjust  the  ceremonies,  and  their 
arrangements  were  reported  to  have  been  as  follows :  At  the  head  of  the 
rbom,  upon  a  platform  handsomely  carpeted,  and  beneath  a  rich  drapery 
of  curtains  and  banners,  was  placed  a  damask-covered  sofa,  upon  which 
the  President  and  Lady  Washington  were  to  be  seated.  The  platform 
was  ascended  by  a  flight  of  three  or  four  steps.  The  costume  of  the  gen- 
tlemen was  prescribed  ;  their  hair  was  to  be  dressed  in  bags,  with  two 
long  curls  on  the  sides,  with  powder,  of  course,  and  all  were  to  appear  and 
dance  with  small  swords.  Each  gentleman,  on  taking  a  partner  to  dance 
was  to  lead  her  to  the  sofa  and  make  a  low  obeisance  to  the  President 
and  his  lady,  and  repeat  the  ceremony  of  respect  before  taking  their  seats 
after  the  figure  was  concluded.  The  decorations  of  the  assembly  room 
were  truly  splendid  and  very  tastefully  disposed. 

At  that  time  there  had  been  no  more  brilliant  assemblage  of  ladies  in 
America  than  were  collected  on  this  occasion.  Few  jewels  were  then  worn 
in  the  United  States,  but  in  other  respects  their  dresses  were  rich  and 
beautiful,  according  to  the  fashions  of  the  day.  We  are  not  quite  sure 
that  we  can  describe  the  full  dress  of  a  lady  of  rank  at  the  period  under 
consideration  so  as  to  render  it  intelligible.  But  we  will  make  the  attempt. 
One  favorite  dress  was  a  plain  celestial  blue  satin  gown,  with  a  white  satin 
petticoat.  On  the  neck  was  worn  a  very  large  Italian  gauze  handker- 
chief, with  border  stripes  of  satin.  The  head-dress  was  a  pouf  of  gauze, 
in  the  form  of  a  globe,  the  creneaux  or  head-piece  of  which  was  composed 
of  white  satin,  having  a  double  wing,  in  large  plaits  and  trimmed  with  a 
wreath  of  artificial  roses  falling  from,  the  left  at  the  top  to  the  right  at 


181 

the  bottom  in  front,  and  the  reverse  behind.  The  hair  was  dressed  all 
over  in  detached  curls,  four  of  which,  in  two  ranks,  fell  on  each  side  of 
the  neck,  and  was  relieved  behind  by  a  floating  chignon. 

Another  beautiful  dress  was  a  perriot,  made  of  gray  Indian  taffeta, 
with  dark  stripes  of  the  same  color,  having  two  collars,  the  one  yellow 
and  the  other  white,  both  trimmed  with  a  blue  silk  fringe,  and  a  reverse 
trimmed  in  the  same  manner.  Under  the  perriot  they  wore  a  yellow 
corset  or  boddice,  with  large  cross  stripes  of  blue.  Some  of  the  ladies 
with  this  dress  wore  hats  a  VEspagnole  of  white  satin,  with  a  band  of  the 
same  material  placed  on  the  crown,  like  the  wreath  of  flowers  on  the 
head-dress  above-mentioned.  This  hat,  which,  with  a  plume,  was  a  very 
popular  article  of  dress,  was  relieved  on  the  left  side,  having  two  hand- 
some cockades,  one  of  which  was  at  the  top  and  the  other  at  the  bottom . 
On  the  neck  was  worn  a  very  large  plain  gauze  handkerchief,  the  ends  of 
which  were  hid  under  the  boddice,  after  the  manner  represented  in 
Trumbull's  and  Stuart's  portraits  of  Lady  Washington.  Round  the 
bosom  of  the  perriot  a  frill  of  gauze,  a  la  Henri  /F,  was  attached,  cut  in 
points  around  the  edge. 

There  was  still  another  dress  which  was  thought  to  be  very  simple 
and  pretty.  It  consisted  of  a  perriot  and  petticoat,  both  composed  of  the 
same  description  of  gray  striped  silk,  and  trimmed  round  with  gauze, 
cut  in  points  at  the  edges  in  the  manner  of  herrisons.  The  herrisons  were 
indeed  nearly  the  sole  trimmings  used  for  the  perriots,  caracos,  and  petti- 
coats of  fashionable  ladies,  made  either  of  ribands  or  Italian  gauze.  With 
this  dress  they  wore  large  gauze  handkerchiefs  upon  their  neck,  with 
four  satin  stripes  around  the  border,  two  of  which  were  narrow  and  the 
others  broad.  The  head-dress  was  a  plain  gauze  cap,  after  the  form  of 
the  elders  and  ancients  of  a  nunnery.  The  shoes  were  celestial  blue  with 
rose-colored  rosettes. 

Such  are  descriptions  of  some  of  the  principal  costumes  of  the  ladies 
who  graced  the  inauguration  ball  of  Washington,  and  although  varied  in 
divers  unimportant  particulars,  by  the  several  ladies,  according  to  their 
respective  tastes  and  fancies,  yet,  as  with  the  peculiar  fashions  of  all  other 
times,  there  was  a  general  correspondence  of  the  outlines,  the  tout  ensemble 
was  the  same. 

The  President  and  his  lady  were  introduced  and  conducted  through 
the  saloon  to  the  seat  provided  for  them  by  Colonel  Humphries,  a  man 
of  fine  accomplishments  and  manners.  General  Knox  had  just  been 
appointed  Secretary  of  War,  and  his  lady  had  been  charged  with  so  far 
resembling  Csesar,  as  to  have  been  somewhat  '  ambitious.'  Be  that 
as  it  may,  it  was  said  in  those  days  that  she  so  arranged  her  own 
movements  as  to  enter  the  saloon  with  the  President  and  his  lady,  follow- 
ing them  to  their  station  and  ascending  the  steps,  vrith  the  evident  design 
of  obtaining  an  invitation  from  the  President  to  a  seat  upon  the  honored 


182 

sofa.  Unluckily,  however,  the  seat  was  too  narrow  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  three  persons,  and  the  lady  of  the  war  minister,  with  deep  and 
apparent  mortification,  was  compelled  to  descend  to  the  level  of  those 
who  had  shown  themselves  to  be  less  openly  aspiring.  No  other  incident 
worthy  of  especial  note  occurred  during  the  evening,  or  none  which 
attracted  particular  attention. 

Among  the  gayest  and  most  courteous  of  the  cavaliers  present  was 
the  Baron  Steuben.  Well  educated  and  bred  in  a  German  court,  having 
also  mingled  much  in  the  splendid  court  circles  of  Louis  XY,  in  Paris, 
where  he  had  usuallj'  passed  his  winters  previous  to  his  emigration  to 
America,  the  manners  of  this  gallant  officer  were  formed  upon  the  best 
model  of  graceful  ease,  affability,  and  dignity.  He  was  thus,  perhaps 
as  well  qualified  to  teach  the  tactics  of  the  drawing-room  as  those  of  the 
field.  But,  too  much  of  the  real  gentleman  to  appear  in  the  least  degree 
assuming,  he  was  a  universal  favorite.  His  dress  was  of  rich  black  silk 
velvet,  with  the  star  of  his  order  upon  his  breast,  and  he  had  ever  some 
witty  or  playful  remark  for  every  person  and  every  occasion,  which  was 
received  with  additional  interest  from  his  German  accent  and  the  little 
and  often  ludicrous  mistakes  to  which  he  was  liable  from  his  imperfect 
knowledge  of  the  English  idioms. 

The  salutatory  exercises  were  such  as  were  usual  in  those  times  and 
on  great  occasions.  There  are  a  few  of  both  sexes  yet  living  who  then 
mingled  in  the  dance,  but  the  incidents  of  the  festive  night  linger  in  their 
memories  like  the  fragments  of  a  broken  vision  in  times  that  are  passed- 
They  remember  only  that  the  exercise  went  on 

'  "With  smooth  step 
Disclosing  motion  in  its  every  charm, 
To  swim  along-  and  swell  the  mazy  dance,' 

presenting  to  the  eye,  as  in  Milton's  beautiful  description  of  the  dances 
of  the  angels — 

*  Mazes  intricate, 
Eccentric,  intervolved,  yet  regular 
Then  most,  when  most  irregular  they  seem.' 

The  illustrious  chieftain  himself  did  not  hesitate  to  countenance  the 
elegant  amusement  by  participation,  as  the  heroes  and  statesmen  of  anti- 
quity, the  demi-gods  of  the  Greeks  and  Eomans,  had  done  before  him. 
Mrs.  Peter  Van  Brook  Livingston  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  were  successively 
honored  by  the  chieftain's  hand  in  a  cotiUion.  He  afterward  danced  a 
minuet  with  Miss  Van  Zandt,  subsequently  the  lady  of  William  Maxwell, 
Esq.,  vice-president  of  the  Bank.  There  was  dignity  and  grace  in  every 
movement  of  this  incomparable  man.  But  in  the  minuet,  which  is  held 
to  be  the  perfection  of  all  dancing,  he  appeared  to  more  than  his  wonted 
advantage.     The  minuet  contains  in  itself  a  compound  variety  of  as  many 


183 

movements  in  tHe  serpentine,  which  is  the  line  of  beauty,  as  can  well  be 
put  together  in  distinct  quantities,  and  is,  withal,  an  exceedingly  fine  com- 
position of  movements.  It  is,  therefore,  the  best  of  all  descriptions  of 
dancing  to  display  the  graces  of  person  and  attitude,  and  never  did  the 
majestic  form  of  Washington  appear  to  greater  advantage  than  on  the 
present  occasion  of  elegant  trifling.  There  was,  moreover,  youth  and 
beauty  in  the  countenance,  grace  in  the  step,  and  heaven  in  the  eye  of 
his  fair  partner. 

Shortly  after  the  brilliant  spectacle  which  we  have  thus  attempted  but 
imperfectly  to  describe,  the  President  was  complimented  by  another  sim- 
ilar fete^  which  he  also  honored  by  his  presence,  given  by  the  French 
Minister.  The  pageant  was  one  of  uncommon  elegance,  both  as  it 
respected  the  character  of  the  company  and  the  plan  of  the  entertainment. 
As  a  compliment  to  the  alliance  of  the  United  States  and  France,  there 
were  two  sets  of  cotillion  dances  in  complete  uniforms.  The  uniform  of 
France  was  worn  by  one  set,  and  that  of  the  United  States,  the  Eevolu- 
tionary  blue  and  buff,  by  the  other.  The  ladies  were  dressed  in  white, 
with  ribands,  bouquets,  and  garlands  of  flowers,  answering  to  the  uni- 
forms of  the  gentlemen.  But  it  would  be  alike  wearisome  and  unneces- 
sary to  enter  into  further  particulars. 


The  levees  of  President  Washington  were  far  more  select  and  rational 
than  are  those  of  the  same  officer  at  the  present  day.  They  were  nume- 
rously attended  by  all  that  was  fashionable,  elegant,  and  refined  in 
in  society,  but  there  were  no  places  for  the  intrusion  of  the  rabble  in 
crowds,  or  for  the  mere  coarse  and  boisterous  partisan,  the  vulgar  elec- 
tioneerer,  or  the  impudent  place-hunter,  with  boots,  and  frock  coats,  or 
roundabouts,  or  with  patched  knees  and  holes  at  both  elbows.  On  the 
contrary,  they  were  select  and  more  courtly  than  have  been  given  by  any 

of  his  successors. 

• 

Proud  of  her  husband's  exalted  fame  and  jealous  of  the  honors  due 
not  only  to  his  own  lofty  character,  but  to  the  dignified  station  to  which 
a  grateful  country  had  called  him,  Mrs.  Washington  was  careful  in  her 
drawing-rooms  to  exact  those  courtesies  to  which  she  knew  he  was 
entitled,  as  well  on  account  of  personal  merit  as  of  official  consideration. 
Fortunately,  moreover,  democratic  rudeness  had  not  then  so  far  gained 
the  ascendancy  as  to  banish  good  manners,  and  the  charms  of  social  inter- 
course were  heightened  by  a  reasonable  attention  in  the  best  circles  to 
those  forms  and  usages  which  indicate  the  well-bred  assemblage,  and 
fling  around  it  an  air  of  elegance  and -grace  which  the  envious  only 
affect  to  decry,  and  the  innately  vulgar  only  ridicule  and  contemn.  None 
therefore,  were  admitted  to  the  levees  but  those  who  had  either  a  right  by 


184 

official  station  to  be  there,  or  were  entitled  to  the  privilege  by  established 
merit  and  character,  and  full  dress  was  required  of  all.* 

Mrs.  Washington  was  a  pleasing  and  agreeable,  rather  than  a  splen- 
did woman.  Her  figure  was  not  commanding,  but  her  manners  were 
easy,  conciliatory  and  attractive.  Her  domestic  arrangements  were 
always  concerted  under  her  own  eye,  and  everything  within  her  house- 
hold moved  forward  with  the  regularity  of  machinery.  No  daughter  of 
Eve  ever  worshipped  her  lord  with  more  sincere  and  affectionate  venera- 
tion ;  and  none  had  ever  cause  to  render  greater  or  more  deserved  homage. 
When  absent,  he  was  ever  in  her  thoughts,  and  her  mild  eyes  kindled  at 
his  presence.  She  was  well  educated,  and  possessed  strong  native  sense, 
guided  by  all  necessary  prudence  and  discretion.  She  rarely  conversed 
upon  political  subjects,  and  when  the  most  expert  diplomatists  would 
attempt  to  draw  her  out,  she  had  the  faculty  of  turning  the  course  of 
conversation  with  equal  dexterity  and  politeness.  At  all  the  President's 
entertainments,  whether  at  the  table  or  in  the  drawing-room,  notwith- 
standing the  regard  to  etiquette  heretofore  adverted  to,  there  was  neverthe- 
less so  much  kindness  of  feeling  displayed,  and  such  an  unaffected  degree  of 
genuine  hospitality,  that  golden  opinions  were  won  alike  from  the  foreign 
and  domestic  visitors. 

In  those  days,  late  hours  were  not  necessary  to  fashion ;  and  many 
of  our  fair  metropolitan  readers,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  dressing  at  ten 
to  enter  a  distant  drawing-room  at  eleven,  will  doubtless  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  Mrs.  Washington's  levees  closed  always  at  nine !  This  was  a 
rule  which  that  distinguished  lady  established  on  the  occasion  of  holding 
her  first  levee,  on  the  evening  of  January  1,  1790.  The  President's 
residence  was  in  the  Franklin  House,  at  the  head  of  Cherry  street. 
"  The  day,"  says  a  letter*  of  our  venerable  and  estimable  friend,  John 
Pintard,  Esq. — who  was  then  in  the  heyday  of  youth  and  life,  mingling 
with  the  fashionable  world — "  was  uncommonly  mild  and  pleasant.  It 
was  about  full  moon,  and  the  air  so  bland  and  serene,  that  the  ladies 
attended  in  their  light  summer  shades.  Introduced  by  the  aids  and 
gentlemen  in  waiting,  after  being  seated,  tea,  coffee,  plain  and  plum  cake 
were  handed  round.  Familiar  and  friendly  conversation  ensued,  and 
kind  inquiries,  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Washington,  after  the  famihes  of  the 
exiles,  with  whom  she  had  been  acquainted  during  the  Eevolutionary 
War,  and  who  always  received  marked  attention  from  General  Washington 

*  Some  show,  if  not  of  state,  at  least  of  respect  for  the  high  officer  they  were  to 
visit,  was  exacted  down  to  the  close  of  Mr.  Madison's  administration.  Mr.  Monroe 
required  les-.  foriAality  and  attention  to  dress,  and  the  second  President  Adams  less 
still.  But  respect  and  reverence  for  the  office  still  kept  the  multitude,  who  had  no. 
business  there,  from  the  President's  drawing-rooms  until  the  year  1829,  when — but 
tempora  mutantur  I 

*  To  Colonel  Morris,  of  the  New  York  Miiror. 


185 

Mrs.  Washington  stood  by  the  side  of  the  General  in  receiving  the  respects 
of  the  visitors.  *  *  *  *  ^nii(i  the  social  chit-chat  of  the  company,  the 
Hall  clock  struck  7iine.  Mrs.  Washington  thereupon  rose  with  dignity 
and,  looking  around  the  circle  with  a  complacent  smile,  observed  :  '  The 
General  always  retires  at  nine,  and  I  usually  precede  him.'  At  this  hint 
the  ladies  instantly  rose,  adjusted  their  dresses,  made  their  salutations, 
and  retired." 

General  Washington  had,  on  that  day,  been  waited  upon  by  the 
principal  gentlemen  of  the  city,  according  to  the  ancient  New  York  custom 
of  social  and  convivial  visiting  on  that  day.  "  After  being  severally  intro- 
duced, and  paying  the  usual  compliments  of  the  season,"  says  Mr.  Pintard, 
"  the  citizens  mutually  interchanged  their  kind  greetings,  and  withdrew, 
highly  gratified  by  the  friendly  notice  of  the  President,  to  most  of  whom 
he  was  personally  a  stranger.-'  In  the  course  of  the  evening,  while 
speaking  of  the  occurrences  of  the  day,  Mrs.  Washington  remarked  :  "  Of 
all  the  incidents  of  the  day,  none  so  pleased  the  General,"  by  which  title 
she  always  designated  him,  "  as  the  friendly  greetings  of  the  gentlemen 
who  visited  him  at  noon."  To  the  inquiry  of  the  President,  whether  it 
was  casual  or  customary,  he  was  answered  that  it  was  an  annual  custom, 
derived  from  our  Dutch  forefathers,  which  had  always  been  commemorated. 
After  a  short  pause,  he  observed  :  "  The  highly -favored  situation  of  JS'ew  York 
will,  in  the  process  of  years ,  attract  numerous  emigrants,  who  will  graduaJJi/  change 
its  ancient  customs  and  manners ;   hut,  let  whatever  changes  tale  place,  xever 

FORGET  THE  CORDIAL,  CHEERFUL  OBSERVAXCE  OF  2fEW  YEAr's  DAY."       The  WOrds 

made  an  indehble  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  writer,  and,  at  this 
distance  of  time,  are  here  recorded,  to  preserve  them,  if  possible,  from 
total  oblivion. 

On  the  12th  day  of  May,  1789,  about  two  weeks  after  General 
Washington  had  taken  the  oath  of  office,  the  oldest  political  organization 
in  the  city  now  in  existence — the  Tammany  Society,  or  CoLrMBiAN  Order — 
was  instituted.  The  year  following  (1790),  a  most  interesting  event  in 
the  history  of  this  organization  occurred,  which,  at  the  time,  excited  con- 
siderable interest  among  the  citizens  of  New  York.  The  United  States 
had  long  been  desirous  of  forming  a  treaty  of  friendship  and  alliance 
with  the  Creek  Indians,  and  various  unsuccessful  attempts  had  been  made 
to  effect  this  object.  At  length.  Colonel  Marinus  Willet  went  to  that  nation 
and  induced  Alexander  McGdvery,  a  half-breed,  Avith  about  thirty  of  the 
principal  chiefs,  to  come  to  this  city.  The  Tammany  Society  determined 
to  receive  them  with  great  ceremony.  The  members,  at  that  day,  were 
accustomed  to  dress  in  the  Indian  costume,  and  on  this  occasion  they 
wore  feathers,  moccasins,  leggings,  painted  their  faces,  and  sported  huge 
war-clubs  and  burnished  tomahawks.  When  the  Creeks  entered  the 
wigwam,  they  were  so  surprised  to  see  such  a  number  of  their  own  race, 
that  they  set  up  a  whoop  of  joy,  which  almost  terrified  the  people  present. 


186 

On  the  occasion  of  this  interview,  Governor  George  Chnton,  Chief- Justice 
Jay,  Mr.  Duane  (the  Mayor),  Mr.  Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  and  other 
distinguished  men  were  present.  The  Creeks  were  overjoyed  with  their 
reception.  They  performed  a  dance,  and  sang  the  E-tho  song.  Mr. 
Smith,  the  Grand  Sachem  of  the  Society,  made  a  speech  to  the  Indians, 
in  which  he  told  them  that  although  the  hand  of  death  was  cold  upon 
those  two  great  Chiefs,  Tammany  and  Columbus,  their  spirits  were  walk- 
ing backward  and  forward  in  the  wigwam.  The  Sagamore  presented 
the  Chiefs  with  the  calumet,  and  one  of  them  dubbed  the  Grand  Sachem, 
^'  TxJLivA  Mice,  or  Chief  of  the  "White  Town."  In  the  evening  they  went 
to  the  theater,  attended  by  the  Sachems  and  members.  Before  they  left 
the  city,  they  entered  into  a  treaty  of  friendship  with  "  Washington,  the 
Beloved  Sachem  of  the  Thirteen  Fires,"  as  they  were  pleased  to  call  him- 

In  June  of  the  same  year,  the  Society  estabhshed  a  museum  for  the 
purpose  of  collecting  and  preserving  everything  relating  to  the  history  of 
the  country.  A  room  was  granted  for  its  use  in  the  City  Hall,  and 
Gardiner  Baker  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  collection.  In  1794, 
it  was  removed  to  a  brick  building  standing  directly  in  the  middle  of  the 
street,  at  the  intersection  of  Broad  and  Pearl  streets,  called  the  Exchange. 
The  lower  part  was  used  as  a  market  but  the  upper  part,  being  light 
and  airy,  was  well  calculated  for  displaying  the  many  curiosities  which 
now  by  the  indefatigable  exertions  of  Mr.  Baker  had  been  collected.  On 
the  25th  of  June,  1795,  the  Society  passed  a  resolution  relinquishing  to 
Gardiner  Baker  all  their  right  and  title  to  the  museum.  He  had  taken 
so  much  pains  and  incured  so  much  expense  in  getting  it  up,  that  he 
could,  with  good  reason,  make  a  claim  upon  it.  It  was  therefore  given 
up  to  him,  upon  condition  that  it  should  be  forever  known  as  the  "  Tam- 
many Museum,"  in  honor  of  its  founders,  and  that  each  member  of  his 
family  should  have  free  access  to  it.  This  Museum,  after  the  death  of 
Baker,  was  sold  to  Mr.  W.  I.  Waldron,  and,  after  passing  through 
various  hands,  formed  the  foundation  of  what  was  afterwards  called  the 
"  American"  or  "  Scudder's  Museum,"  in  Chatham  street.* 

The  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century  found  New  York  vastly 
improved.  As  commerce  and  trade  revived,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
enlarge  the  grounds  of  the  city  and  give  it  a  more  presentaUe  appear- 
ance to  the  many  foreigners  who  had  already  begun  to  flock  thither  for 
trade.  The  city  now  numbered  twenty-three  thousand  souls  exclusive  of 
a  floating  population,  large  even  for  that  early  day.  Beade  and  Duane 
streets  were  laid  out  and  opened  to  the  public  in  1794.  The  waste 
grounds  around  the  Collect  were  filled  in  and  graded ;  a  canal,  following 
the  present  Canal  street  (whence  the  name),  was  cut  through  from  the 
Collect  to  the  North  River  with   a    view    of   draining    the    Lispenand 

*  History  of  the  Tammany  Society,  by  R.  G.  Horton. 


187 

meadows  ;    the  beautiful  lake  was  filled  up  and  made  firm  ground ;    the 
grade  of  Broadway,  from  Duane  to   Canal  street,   was  determined  upon 
by  the  city  authorities ;    the  streets  had  received  numbers  ;    the   United 
States  Navy  Yard,  at  Brooklyn,  had  been  begun  ;  the  plan  of  the  present 
modern  city,   with  its  parallel   streets   and   broad   avenues,   had   been 
adopted;    Washington,   Union,  Madison,   and  Tompkins    Squares,    had 
been  laid  out ;  the  great  salt  meadow  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  city  had 
been  drained,  and  already,  in  imagination,  divided   into   building-lots  ; 
and  as  the  grand  step  in  this  march  of  improvement,  New  York  received 
in  1790,  her  first  sidewalks,  which  were  laid  on  both   sides  of  Broad- 
way, from  Vesey  to  Murray  street.     True,  these  sidewalks  were  only 
narrow  pavements  of  brick,   scarcely  allowing  two  lean  men  to  walk 
abreast  or  one  fat  man  alone ;  still  they  were  far  preferable  to  walking 
in  the  middle  of  the  streets  on  cobble-stones — especially  if  a  person  had 
corns.     At  this  time,  also,  Nassau  and  Pine  streets  were  what  the  upper 
part  of  Fifth  avenue  is  now.     Pearl  (then  Queen)  street,*  from  Hanover 
square  to  John  street,  was  the  abode  of  wealth  and  fashion.     Wall  street, 
now  given  over  to  the  sordid  purpose  of  Mammon,  was  the  gay  prome- 
nade on  bright  afternoons,  and  there  many  a  gallant's  heart  has  been 
pierced  by  glances  shot  from  beneath  the  frizzled  locks  of  the  fair  sex  ; 
while  the  beaux  with  their  powdered  curls  before,  and  their  neat  black 
silk  bags  behind  the  head,  their  laced  ruffles  and  desperately  square-toed 
shoes,  were  equally  comme  il  faiit.     The   City  Hall  stood  at  the   foot  of 
Nassau  street.     Just  below  it  was  the  elegant  mansion  of  Mr.  Verplanck 
and  immediately  opposite,  on  the  corner  of  Broad  street,  was  the  Watch- 
House  ;  while  further  down,  at  the  corner  of  New  street,  stood  Becker's 
Tavern — then  a  place  of  great  resort.     In  Nassau  street  resided  the  Jays, 
Waddingtons,  Eadcliffes,  Brinckerhoffs,  and  other  prominent  families. 
Where  the  Merchants'  Exchange  now  stands  were  the  residences  of 
Thomas  Buchanan,  Mrs.  White,  and  W.  C.  Leffingwell ;  while  in  Pearl 
street  were  the  fashionable  dwellings  of  Samuel  Denton,  John  Ellis,  John 
J.  G-lover,  John  Mowatt,  Eobert  Lennox,  Thomas  Cadle,  John  B.  Murray, 
Lieutenant-Governor  Broome,  Andrew  Ogden,  Governor  George  Clinton, 
and  Richard  Yarick.     Near  the  location  of  the  present  City  Hall  was  the 
Aims-House,  with  the  bridewell  on  one  side  and  the  prison  on  the  other, 
Grenzeback's  grocery  stood  were  French's  Hotel  now  does.     There  were 
but  three  or  four  buildings   on  the  block  where  Tammany  Hall  lately 
stood,   one  of  which,  nearly  on  the  present  site  of  the  Trihune  buildings, 
was  a  place  of  great  resort  for  military  men.     The  only  remaining  rem. 
nants  of  the  neighborhood  in  that  time  are  the  wooden  shanties,  with 
their  moss-covered  roofs,  which  now  disfigure  Chatham  street,  opposite 
Centre.* 

*  R.  G.  Horton's  History  of  the  Tammany  Society. 


188 


THE     FIEE    OF    1804. 


One  event,  however,  was  to  impede  for  a  short  time  the  progress 
which  the  city  was  making  on  the  road  to  prosperity.  This  was  the  fire 
of  1804.  About  two  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  18th  of  December,  of 
that  year,  a  serious  fire  commenced  in  a  grocery  store  on  Front  street. 
The  air  was  cold,  and  a  high  wind  blowing  and  the  engines  late  in  their 
appearance,  the  devouring  clement  extended  with  unexampled  rapidity, 
destroying  many  valuable  stores  and  dwellings,  with  their  contents. 
The  buildings  from  the  west  side  of  Coffee- House  Slip,  on  Water  street, 
to  Governeur's  Lane,  and  thence  down  to  the  East  Eiver,  were  swept 
away,  and  crossing  Wall  street,  the  houses  upon  the  east  side  of  the  slip 
were  also  burned.  Among  them  were  the  old  Tontine  Coffee-House,  so 
celebrated  in  its  way,  with  several  brick  stores.  Most  of  the  buildings 
being  of  wood,  their  destruction  caused  new  and  fire-proof  brick  edifices 
to  be  built  in  th«ir  places.  About  forty  stores  and  dwellings  were  con- 
sumed-T-fifteen  jon  Wall  street,  seventeen  on  Front,  and  eight  in  Water 
street.  The  value  of  the  property  destroyed  amounted  to  one  or  two 
millions  of  dollars,  and  the  fire  was  supposed  to  be  the  work  of  incen- 
diaries, from  anonymous  letters  sent  to  a  merchant  previous  to  the  event. 
Five  hundred  dollars  reward  was  offered  by  the  Mayor  for  the  appre- 
hension of  the  incendiaries.  This  same  region,  thirty-one  years  after- 
ward, was  to  witness  the  greatest  conflagration  which  ever  took  place  in 
this  city. 

The  year  1804  was  indeed  a  memorable  date  in  the  annals  of  the 
City.  In  that  year  the  Historical  Society  was  founded,  with  De  Witt 
Clinton  for  its  first  vice-president ;  the  present  City  Hall  began  to  rise 
from  its  foundation ;  and  the  Public  School  Society  was  virtually  deter- 
mined upon.  It  was  marked  also  by  dark  signs  ;  for,  besides  bringing 
the  dreadful  fire,  which  we  have  already  described,  it  brought  the  death 
of  Hamilton — killed  in  a  duel  by  Burr — "  and  the  loss  of  his  brilliant 
gifts  and  guiding  intellect." 

The  year  1807  is  also  one  yet  more  memorable,  not  only  in  the  CityV 
history,  but  in  that  of  the  United  States  and  the  globe.  In  that  year  was 
witnessed  the  successful  introduction  of  steam  navigation.  "  Who  shall 
say  what  steam  navigation  has  done  to  emancipate  mankind  from  drudg- 
ery, and  construct  society  upon  the  basis  of  liberty  ?  It  is  science  turned 
liberator;  and  the  saucy  philosophy  of  the  eighteenth  century  became 
the  mighty  and  merciful  helper  of  the  nineteenth  century.  To  us,  indi- 
vidually and  generally,  how  marvelous  has  been  the  gift !  Wherever 
that  piston-rod  rises  and  falls,  and  those  paddles  turn,  man  has  a  giant 
for  his  porter  and  defender.  The  liberty  of  the  nation  has  been  organ- 
ized under  its  protection  ;  and  the  great  States  of  the  Mississippi  valley 
and  the  Pacific  coast  are  brought  within  one  loyal  afiinity,  and  build  their 
new  liberties  upon  the  good  old  pattern  of  our  fathers.     Clinton  and  Ful- 


189 

ton,  the  one  identified  with,  the  rise  of  steam  navigation,  the  other  with 
the  Erie  Canal,  are  names  that  belong  to  universal  history,  as  having  given 
America  its  business  unity,  and  brought  its  united  wealth  to  bear  upon 
the  industry  and  commerce  of  the  world."  * 

On  the  7th  of  August,  1807,  the  first  steam-boat,  the  Clermont^  con- 
structed and  finished  under  the  genius  of  Eobert  Fulton,  encouraged  by 
Chancellor  Livingston,  stood  in  the  stream  opposite  Jersey  City,  ready  at 
a  signal  to  start  on  her  way  to  Albany.  Thousands  of  citizens  lined  both 
banks  of  the  river,  and  filled  every  kind  of  available  water-craft  with  the 
expectation  of  witnessing  the  utter  failure  of  "Fulton's  Folly" — as  they 
had  taunti^gly  christened  the  new  boat — and  of  ha^^ng  the  satisfaction 
of  saying,  "  I  told  you  so."  But  that  sentence  was  never  to  be  uttered  J 
for,  at  the  word  from  the  inventor,  the  wheels  began  to  revolve,  slowly  at 
first,  then  faster  and  faster,  until  "  Fulton's  Folly"  vanished  up  the  river, 
leaving  the  scoffers  staring  after  it  with  blank  visages  and  open  mouths. 
The  triumph  was  complete. 

A  year  ago,  in  the  summer  of  1867,  the  writer  chanced  to  be  a  pas- 
senger on  board  of  the  swift  and  fairy-like  steamer,  the  Chauncey 
Vibhard,  of  the  Albany  Day-Line.*  While  passing  Catskill  the  birth- 
place of  Thurlow  Weed,  the  latter,  who  was  also  a  passenger,  was 
reminded  of  an  incident  of  his  boyhood,  connected  with  the  first  trip  of 
the  Clermont^  which  he  related  to  the  httle  circle  gathered  round  him  • 
"  Sixty  years  ago,  this  very  day,"  said  Mr.  Weed,  "  the  first  steam-boat 
passed  up  the  Hudson  from  New  York  to  Albany.  The  news  spread 
like  wild-fire,  although  there  was  then  no  telegraph,  and  the  banks  of 
the  entire  river  were  almost  literally  lined  with  people,  to  whom  the  first 
steam-boat  was  a  much  greater  wonder  than  the  Great  Eastern  to  the 
present  generation."  To  be  on  the  bank,  however,  was  not  enough  for 
Mr.  Weed ;  so,  stripping  off  his  clothes  and  placing  them  on  a  rude  raft 
improvised  for  the  occasion,  he  swam  out  into  the  stream,  pushing  the 
raft  before  him;  and  from  an  island  (now  forming  the  main-land)  he 

Dr-  Osgood's  New  York  in  the  Nineteenth  Century. 
*  The  Chauncey  Vibbard — owned  by  J.  McB.  Davidson,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  and 
Alfred  Van  Santvoord,  Esq.,  of  Albany ;  superintended  by  the  latter,  and  com- 
manded by  the  genial  and  experienced  seaman,  Captain  Hitchcock — is  probably  the 
fastest  boat  in  existence.  In  the  course  of  the  trip  mentioned  in  the  text,  the  dis- 
tance between  "West  Point  and  Newburg — ten  miles — was  made  in  twenty  minutes 
and  a  half,  nearly  thirty  miles  an  hour.  The  speed  of  the  boat  on  this  occasion  was 
timed  by  Mr.  Weed,  Mr.  Erastus  Brooks,  of  the  Express,  and  Mr.  Wilkes,  of  the 
Spirit  of  the  Times.  This  time  becomes  the  more  remarkable  when  it  is  stated  that 
at  the  time  the  steam-boat  had  five  hundred  ani  fifty  passengers  on  board.  The 
speed  of  Fulton's  boat  was  about  six  miles  an  hour  ! 


190 

watched,  in  actual  fear  and  trembling,  the  singular,   and  to  him  weirdy 
spectacle — 

"  A  peaceful  bark  o'er  the  waters  sped, 
As  this  monster  form  drew  near  ; 
From  his  perilous  post  the  helmsman  fled, 
And  the  hailing  captain  bade  with  dread 
From  her  demon-wake  to  steer. 
****** 

•'  From  the  fishermen's  cabins  the  inmates  burst, 
And  were  moved  in  their  panic  to  say, 
That  the  ghosts  of  the  Dutchmen  had  risen  from  dust 
To  smoke  their  great  pipes  with  a  terrible  gust, 
And  hasten  from  Gotham  away."* 

But  before  New  York  City  was  to  attain  to  its  present  high  position 
it  was  destined  to  pass  through  another  period  of  darkness  and  depres- 
sion— the  war  of  1812 — a  period,  moreover,  which  was  to  be  rendered 
additionally  trying  by  the  crippling  of  its  resources  by  the  terrible  con- 
flagration of  1811.  The  Hon.  G.  P.  Disosway,  who,  with  a  lew  others 
yet  Hving,  passed  through  this  fiery  ordeal,  gives  his  personal  reminis- 
cences of  this  fire  as  follows  : 

THE   FIRE   OF   1811. 

"  An  extensive  fire  broke  out  in  Chath&,m  street,  near  Duane,  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing, May  19,  1811,  raging  furiously  several  hours.  A  brisk  north-east  wind  was 
blowing  at  the  moment,  and  the  flames  spreading  with  great  rapidity,  for  some  time 
seemed  to  baffle  all  the  exertions  of  the  firemen  and  citizens.  Between  eighty  and 
one  hundred  buildings,  on  both  sides  of  Chatham  street,  were  consumed  in  a  few 
hours. 

"  We  well  remember  that  conflagration.  The  writer  was  then  a  Sat)bath-School 
boy,  and  a  teacher  in  a  public  school-room  near  by,  at  the  corner  of  Tryon  Eow.  The 
school  was  dismissed,  and,  as  usual,  proceeded  to  old  John  Street  Church,  thick 
showers  of  light  burning  shingles  and  cinders  falling  all  over  the  streets.  That  was 
the  day  of  shingle  roofs.  When  the  teachers  and  scholars,  their  number  very  large, 
reached  the  church  the  venerable  Bishop  McKendall  occupied  the  pulpit,  and  seeing 
the  immense  clouds  of  dark  smoke  and  living  embers  enveloping  that  section  of  the 
city,  he  advised  the  men  '  to  go  to  the  fire  and  help  in  its  extinguishment,  and  he 
would  preach  to  the  women  and  children.     This  advice  was  followed. 

By  this  time  the  scene  had  become  very  exciting,  impressive,  and  even  fearful. 
We  have  not  forgotten  it,  and  never  will.  The  wind  had  increased  to  a  gale,  and 
far  and  wide  and  high  flew  the  blazing  flakes  in  whirling  eddies,  throwing  burning 
destruction  wherever  they  lit  or  fell. 

The  lofty  spires  near  by  of  the  '  Brick  Meeting,'  St.  Paul's,  and  '  St.  George's 
Chapel,'  enveloped  in  the  rapidly  passing  embers,  soon  became  the  especial  objects  of 
watchfulness  and  anxiety.  Thousands  of  uplifted  eyes,  and  we  doubt  not  prayers, 
were  directed  toward  these  holy  tabernacles,  now  threatened  with  speedy  destruc- 
tion. And  there  was  cause  for  fear.  Near  the  ball  at  the  top  of  the  *  Brick  Church 
a  blazing  spot  was  seen  outside,   and  apparently  not   larger  than   a  man's  head. 

*  Mrs.  Sigoumey's  poem,  entitled,  "  The  First  Steam-boat." 


191 

Instantly,  a  thrill  of  fear  evidently  ran  through  the  bosoms  of  the  thousands  crowd- 
ing the  Park  and  the  \vidc  area  of  Chatham  street.  They  feared  the  safety  of  an  old 
and  loved  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  they  feared  als ),  if  the  spire  was  once  in  flames, 
with  the  increasing  gale,  what  woald  be  the  terrible  consequence  on  the  lower  part 
of  the  city. 

'  What  can  we  do  r'  was  the  universal  question — '  what  in  the  world  can  be  done  ?' 
was  in  everybody's  mouth.  The  kindling  spot  could  not  be  reached  from  the  inside 
of  the  tall  steeple,  nor  by  ladders  outside  ;  neither  could  any  fire-engine,  however 
powerful,  force  the  water  to  that  lofty  height.  AVith  the  deepest  anxiety,  fear  and 
trembling,  all  faces  were  turned  in  that  direction.  At  this  moment  of  alarm  and 
dread,  a  sailor  appeared  on  the  roof  of  the  church,  and  very  soon  was  seen  climbing  up 
the  steeple,  hand  over  hand,  by  the  lightning-rod  I — yes,  by  the  rusty,  slender  iron  ! 
Of  course,  the  excitement  now  became  most  intense ;  and  the  perilous  undertaking  of 
the  daring  man  was  watched  every  moment,  as  he  slowly,  step  by  step,  grasp  after 
grasp,  literally  crawled  upward,  by  means  of  his  slim  conductor.  Many  fears  were 
expressed  among  the  immense  crowds,  watching  every  inch  of  his  ascent,  for  there 
was  no  resting-place  for  hands  and  feet,  and  he  must  hold  on,  or  fall  and  perish  ;  and 
should  he  succeed  in  reaching  the  burning  spot,  how  could  he  possibly  extinguish  it, 
as  water,  neither  by  hose  nor  buckets,  could  be  sent  to  his  assistance  ?  '  But  where 
there  is  a  will,  there  is  a  way,'  says  the  old  maxim,  and  it  was  at  this  fearful  crisis 
he  reached  the  kindling  spot,  and  firmly  grasping  the  lightning-rod  in  one  hand, 
with  the  other  he  removed  his  tarpaulin  hat  from  his  head,  and  with  it,  literally, 
blow  after  blow,  thick,  strong,  and  unceasing,  extinguished  or  beat  out  the  fire ! 
Shouts  of  joy  and  thanks  greeted  the  noble  fellow,  as  he  slowly  and  safely  descended 
to  the  earth  again.  The  '  Old  Brick'  was  thus  preserved  from  the  great  conflagration 
of  that  Sunday  morning.  Our  hero  quickly  disappeared  in  the  crowd,  and,  it  was 
said,  immediately  sailed  abroad,  with  the  favorable  wind  then  blowing.  A  reward 
was  offered  for  the  person  who  performed  this  daring,  generous  act ;  but  it  is  said 
that  some  imposter  passed  himself  off  for  the  real  hero,  and  obtained  the  promised 
amount. 

The  cupola  of  the  '  Old  Jail,'  which  stood  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the 
'  Hall  of  Records,'  also  took  fire.  This  was  extinguished  through  the  exertions  of  a 
prisoner,  '  on  the  limits.'  This  was  the  famous,  generous  institution,  where  unfor- 
tunate debtors  formerly  were  confined  and  barred  in  with  grated  doors  and  iron 
bjlts,  deprived  of  liberty,  and  Avithout  tools,  books,  paper  or  pen,  expected  to  pay 
their  debts.  It  was  a  kind  of  '  Calcutta  Black-Hole,'  and  the  inmates  having  no 
yard-room,  the  prisoners  frequented  the  top  of  the  building  for  open-air  exercise. 
Her 3  they  might  be  seen  every  hour  of  the  day.  Generally  discovering  fires  in  the 
city,  they  gave  the  first  alarm,  by  ringing  the  '  Jail-Bell.'  This  became  a  sure  signal 
of  a  conflagration,  and  on  this  occasion  they  saved  the  legal  pest-house  from  quick 
destruction.  The  Corporation  I'ewarded  the  debtor  who  fortunately  extinguished 
the  threatened  cupola. 

If  the  building  had  been  destroyed  and  its  inmates  only  saved,  there  would  not 
have  been  much  public  regret,  for  it  had  been  a  sort  of  '  Calcutta  Black-Hole  '  to 
American  prisoners  of  war  during  the  Revolution.  After  General  Washington's 
success  during  1777,  in  New  Jersey,  a  portion  of  these  poor  prisoners  were  exchanged, 
but  many  of  them,  exhausted  by  their  confinement,  before  reaching  the  vessels  for 
embarkation  home,  fell  dead  in  the  streets.  These  are  some  of  the  historical  reminis- 
cences of  the  '  Old  Debtor's  Prison,'  which  so  narrowly  escaped  burning  in  the  great 
fire  of  May,  1811." 

Scarcely  had  the  citizens  of  New  York  recovered  from  the  disheart- 
ening effects  of  this  fire,  when,  on  the  20th  of  June,  1812,  the  news  was 


192 

received  in  tlie  city,  of  President  Madison's  .declaration  of  war  against 
Great  Britain,  issued  a  few  days  i^revious.  A  meeting  was  immediately 
called  at  noon  of  tlie  same  day,  in  the  Park,  and  at  which  tlie  citizens 
pledged   themselves  to   give  the    Government  their  undivided   support. 

This  resolution,  in  view  of  the  severe  blow  which  it  was  perceived 
would  at  once  be  given  by  the  war  to  the  prosperity  of  New  York,  was 
no  slight  proof  of  patriotism  ;  and  many  who  at  the  beginning  of  the  war 
were  rich,  found  themselves,  when  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  on  the 
24th  of  December,  1814,  ruined.  The  condition  in  which  Xew  York  Avas 
at  the  close  of  the  war,  as  well  as  the  extravagant  demonstration  of 
joy  with  which  the  news  of  the  termination  of  hostilities  was  received, 
is  thus  graphically  described  by  the  late  Prancis  Wayland,  who  was  an 
eye-witness  of  the  scene  : 

"It  so  chanced  that  at  the  close  of  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain 
I  was  temporarily  a  resident  of  the  City  of  New  York.  The  prospects  of 
the  nation  were  shrouded  in  gloom.  We  had  been,  for  two  or  three 
years,  at  war  with  the  mightiest  nation  on  earth,  and  as  she  liad  now 
concluded  a  peace  with  the  continent  of  Europe,  wo  were  obliged  to  cope 
with  her  single-handed.  Our  harbors  were  blockaded,  communications 
coast- wise  between  our  ports  was  cut.off ;  our  ships  were  rotting  in  every 
creek  and  cove  where  they  could  find  a  place  of  security  ;  our  immense 
annual  products  were  mouldering  in  our  warehouses.  The  sources  of 
profitable  labor  were  dried  up  ;  our  currency  was  reduced  to  irredeemable 
paper ;  the  extreme  portions  of  our  country  were  becoming  hostile  to 
each  other ;  and  differences  of  political  opinion  were  embittering  the 
peace  of  every  household  ;  the  credit  of  the  Government  was  exhausted  ; 
no  one  could  predict  when  the  contest  would  terminate,  or  discern  the 
means  by  which  it  could  much  longer  be  protracted. 

It  happened  that  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  in  Pebruary,  1815,  a  ship 
was  discerned  in  the  offing,  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  cartel,  bringing 
home  our  Commissioners  at  Ghent,  from  their  unsuccessful  mission.  The 
sun  had  set  gloomily  before  any  intelligence  Iiad  reached  the  city. 
Expectation  became  painfully  intense,  as  the  hours  of  darkness  drew  on. 
At  length,  a  boat  reached  the  wharf,  announcing  the  fact  that  a  treaty  of 
peace  had  been  signed,  and  was  waiting  for  nothing  but  the  action  of  our 
Government  to  become  a  law.  The  men,  on  whose  ears  theso  words  first 
fell,  rushed  in  breathless  haste  into  the  city,  to  repeat  them  to  their  friends, 
shouting  as  they  ran  through  the  streets,  'Peace!  Peace  I  PEACE!' 
Every  one  who  heard  the  sound  repeated  it.  Prom  house  to  house, 
from  street  to  street,  the  news  spread  with  electric  rapidity.  The 
whole  city  was  in  commotion.  Men  bearing  lighted  torches,  were 
flying  to  and  fro,  shouting  like  madmen,  '  Peace  !  PEACE !'  When 
the  rapture  had  partially  subsided,  one  idea  occupied  every  mind. 
But  few  men   slept  that  night.     In  groops  they  were  gathered  in  the 


193 

streets,  and  by  the  fireside,  beguiling  the  hours  of  midnight  by  reminding 
each  other  that  the  agony  of  war  was  over,  and  that  a  worn-out  and  dis- 
tracted country  was  about  to  enter  again  upon  its  wonted  career  of  pros- 
perity. •' 

In  1818,  the  Legislature  of  New  York — De  AVitt  Clinton,  Governor — 
ordered  the  remains  of  General  Montgomery  to  be  removed  from  Canada 
to  NoAv  York.  This  was  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  which,  in  1776,  had  voted  the  beautiful  cenotaph  to  his  memory 
that  now  stands  in  the  front  wall  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  Broadway. 
When  the  funeral  cortege  reached  Whitehall,  N.  Y.,  the  fleet  stationed 
there  received  them  with  appropriate  honors ;  and  on  the  4th  of  July 
they  arrived  in  Albany.  After  lying  in  state  in  that  city  over  Sunday^ 
the  remains  were  taken  to  New  York,  and  on  Wednesday  deposited,  with 
military  honors,  in  their  final  resting-place  at  St.  Paul's.  Governor 
Clinton,  with  the  delicacy  for  which  he  was  always  remarkable,  had 
informed  Mrs.  Montgomery  when  the  steamer  Richmond^  with  the  body 
of  her  husband,  would  pass  her  mansion  on  the  North  Eiver.  At  her 
own  request,  she  stood  alone  on  the  portico  at  the  moment  that  the  boat 
passed.  It  was  now  almost  forty  years  since  she  had  parted  from  her 
husband,  and  they  had  then  been  married  only  two  years ;  yet  she  had 
remained  as  faithful  to  the  memory  of  her  "  soldier,"  as  she  always  called 
him,  as  if  alive.  The  steam-boat  halted  before  the  mansion ;  the  band 
played  the  "Dead  March;"  a  salute  was  fired;  and  the  ashes  of  the 
venerated  hero  and  the  departed  husband  passed  on.  The  attendants  of 
the  Spartan  widow  now^  appeared,  but,  overcome  by  the  tender  emotions 
of  the  moment,  she  had  swooned  and  fallen  to  the  floor.* 

In  the  successive  years  of  its  existence,  the  City  of  New  York  had 
been  visited  by  war,  and  fire,  and  famine,  and  now  the  scourge  of  pestilence 
was  to  be  added.     In  1819,  the  city  was  visited  by  yellow-fever,  which 


*  Janet  Livingston,  the  sister  of  the  distinguished  Chancellor  Livingston,  the 
wife  of  General  Richard  Montgomery,  met  the  latter  when  he  was  a  Captain  in  the 
British  Army  and  on  the  way  to  a  distant  frontier  post.  The  meeting  left  mutual 
tender  impressions.  Returning  to  England  soon  after,  Montgomery  disposed  of  his 
commission,  and,  emigrating  to  New  York,  married  the  object  of  his  attachment. 
But  their  visions  of  anticipated  happiness  upon  a  farm  at  Rhinebeck  were  soon 
ended.  He  was  called  upon  to  serve  as  one  of  the  eight  brigadier-generals  in  the 
Continental  Army.  He  accepted  sadly,  declaring  that  "  the  will  of  an  oppressed 
people,  compelled  to  choose  between  liberty  and  slavery,  must  be  obeyed."  His 
excellent  wife  made  no  opposition,  and,  accompanying  him  as  far  as  Saratoga, 
received  his  last  assurance :  "  You  shall  never  have  cause  to  blush  for  yo\ir  Mont- 
gomery." Nor  did  she  ;  for  he  fell  bravely  at  Quebec.  Having  reduced  St.  Johns* 
Chambly,  and  Montreal,  he  effected  a  junction  with  Arnold  before  the  walls  of 
Quebec,  where  he  was  shot  through  both  his  thighs  and  head,  while  leading  his 
men,  on  the  31st  of  December,  1775.  In  person,  G-eneral  Montgomery  was  tal!» 
graceful,  and  of  manly  address.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  he  was  only  thirty-nine 
years  of  age. 

13 


194 

shortly  disappeared,  only,  however,  to  return  with  increased  violence  in 
the  fall  of  182-2.  '^  As  to  the  fever,"  writes  Colonel  W.  L.  Stone,  at  that 
time  editor  of  the  Commercial  Advertiser,  under  date  of  October  10th,  1822, 
to  a  friend,  "  I  cannot  say  that  it  is  any  better.  In  the  contrary  it  rages 
sadly,  and  grows  worse  every  hour.  There  are  many  sick  and  dying, 
especially  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  city,  who  would  not  move,  and  the 
physicians  will  not  visit  them.  I  know  several  who  have  died  without  a 
physician.  Old  Mr.  Taylor,  for  instance  (Soap  and  Candles,  Maiden 
Lane),  would  not  move,  and  is  now  in  his  grave."  Even  the  cold  weather 
of  1822  and  1823  failed  to  check  it,  and  the  succeeding  summer  its 
ravages  became  so  frightful,  that  all  who  could,  fled  the  city.  Business 
was  entirely  suspended,  and  the  place  presented  the  appearance  literally 
of  a  deserted  city — with  no  sounds  except  the  rumbling  of  the  hearses  as, 
at  the  dead  of  night,  they  passed  through  the  streets  to  collect  the  tribute 
of  the  grave.  By  the  2d  of  November,  however,  the  fever  had  disap- 
peared ;  the  inhabitants  again  returned  to  their  homes ;  the  banks  and 
Oustom-House  which  had  been  removed,  during  the  fever,  to  Greenwich 
Village  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  moved  back  to  their  customary 
places  ;  and  business  and  social  intercourse  once  more  flowed  in  their 
accustomed  channels. 

The  two  following  years  were  to  witness  two  august  celebrations  in 
New  York.  The  first  was  in  1824,  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  General 
Lafayette  to  America  in  his  eighty-sixth  year ;  and  the  second  was  in 
honor  of  the  completion  of  the  Erie  Canal,  by  which  the  waters  of  Lake 
Erie  were  connected  with  those  of  the  Atlantic. 

It  was  most  fitting  that  the  city  which  had  so  nobly  supported  the 
enterprise  from  the  beginning,  should  take  the  chief  part  in  the  ceremo- 
nies attending  its  realization.  Probably  no  project  of  internal  improve- 
ment ever  met  with  such  bitter  and  malignant  opposition  as  that  of  the 
Erie  Canal,  and  great  as  was  the  assistance  given  to  the  canal  project  by 
the  Act  of  the  New  York  Legislature  of  April,  1811,  the  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  its  successful  completion  were  by  no  means  removed.  The  same 
incredulity  as  to  the  practicability  of  the  canal,  and  the  same  apprehen- 
sions as  to  the  capacity  of  the  State,  continued  to  raise  a  fierce  opposition 
in  the  Legislature  against  any  appropriations  for  carrying  out  the  work 
which  it  had  itself  authorized.  Many  attempts  were  accordingly  made 
to  arrest,  or  at  least  curtail  and  arrest  the  project ;  and  often  during  the 
progress  of  the  undertaking  it  seemed  as  if  it  would  be  utterly  aban- 
doned. Party  spirit  at  that  time  ran  high,  and  the  greatest  efl'ort  on  the 
part  of  its  supporters  was  required  to  persuade  the  people  of  the  State  to 
give  it  their  support  at  the  polls.  In  accomplishing  this  result,  the  Com- 
mercial Advertiser^  the  oldest  paper  of  New  York  City,  gave  powerful  aid. 
That  paper,  which  had  always  been  the  organ  of  the  Federalists,  became, 
upon  Mr.  Stone's  assuming  its  management  in  1820,  a  staunch  advocate 


I 


195 

of  the  Clintonians.     A  strong  personal  friendship  for  Mr.  Clinton  on  the 
part  of  its  editor,  together  with  a  firm  conviction  of  the   necessity  for  a 
canal  through  the  interior  of  New  York  State,  led  to   the  position  thus 
assumed.     The  trials  and  rebuffs  experienced  by  Governor   Clinton  and 
his  supporters  in  pushing  the  canal  project,  and  the  energy  which  fought 
it  through  to  a  triumphant  end,  are  matters  of  history.     The  Erie  Canal 
was  completed  in  the  fall  of  1825.     At  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
26th  of  October  of  the  same  year,  the  first  canal-boat,  the   Seneca   Chief, 
left  Buffalo,  having  on  board   Grovernor  Clinton,  Joshua   Foreman,  and 
Colonel  Stone,  and  the  booming  of  cannon,  placed  at  intervals  of  a  few 
miles  along  the  entire  line  of  the  canal  from  Buffalo  to  Albany,  and  thence 
along  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  to  Sandy  Hook,  announced  the  successful 
termination  of  the  enterprise.     In  New  York  City,  especially,  this  event 
was  celebrated  by  extraordinary  civic  and  military  ceremonies,  and  the 
citizens  gave  themselves  up  to  the  wildest   demonstrations  of  joy.     Nor 
was  this  joy  ill-timed  or  excessive.     "  For  a  single  State  to  achieve  such 
a  victory,  not  only  over  the  doubts  and  fears  of  the  wary,  but  over  the 
obstacles  of  nature,  causing  miles  of  massive  rocks  at  the  mountain  ridge 
yield  to  its  power,  turning  the  tide  of  error  as  well  as  that  of  the  Tonne- 
wanda,  piling  up  the  waters  of  the  mighty  Niagara  as  well  as  those  of 
the  beautiful   Hudson,  in   short,  causing  a  navigable  river  to   flow  with 
gentle  current  down  the  steepy  mount  of  Lockport,  to  leap  the   river  of 
Genesee,  to  encircle  the  brow  of  Irondequoit  as  with  the  laurel's  wreath, 
to  march  through  the  rich  fields  of  Palmyra  and  of  Lyons,  to  wend  its 
way  through  the    quicksands  of   the    morass  at  the   Cayuga,   to  pass 
unheeded  the  delicious  licks   at   Onondaga,  to   smile  through  Oneida's 
verdant  landscape,  to  hang  upon  the  arm  of  the   ancient  Mohawk,  and 
with  her,  after  gaily  stepping  down  the  cadence  of  the  Little  Falls  and 
the  Cohoes,  to  rush  to  the  embrace  of  the  sparkling  Hudson,  and  all  in 
the  space  of  eight  short  years,  was  the  work  of  which  the  oldest  and 
richest  nations  of  Christendom  might  be  proud."*     Colonel  Stone,  as  one 
of  the  most  zealous  champions  of  the   canal,  was  appointed  to  write  the 
Nakra-Tive  of  the  Celebration,  receiving  a   silver  medal  and  box  from . 
the  Common  Council  of  New  York  City,  together  with  the  thanks  of  that 
body.f 


*  Stone's  Narrative. 

f  Mr.  Stone's  narrative  of  the  celebration  was  published  by  the  Common  Coun- 
cil under  the  title  of  the  G-rand  Erie  Canal  Celebration,  accompanied  by  a 
memoir  of  the  great  work  by  Cadwallader  D.  Colden  : 

In  connection  with  the  Erie  Canal  and  its  influence  in  building  up  the  interior 
towns  of  this  State,  Mr.  Stone  was  wont  to  relate  the  following  anecdote  :  In  1820 
be  visited  Syracuse  with  Joshua  Foreman,  the  founder  of  that  city  and  one  of  the 
earliest  and  most  zealous  friends  of  the  Erie  Canal.  "  I  lodged  for  the  night,"  says 
Mr.   Stone,  '*at  a  miserable  tAvern,   thronged  by  a  company  of  salt-boilers    ir~7\i 


196 

The  land  procession  in  the  city  on  this  occasion,  while  being  very- 
fine,  was  modeled  after  the  procession  in  honor  of  the  adoption  of  the 
Federal  Constitution  in  1788,*  and  does  not  present  any  very  striking 
features.  The  naval  procession,  however,  was  so  unique,  and  withal  was 
projected  and  carried  out  on  such  a  magnificent  scale,  that  we  quote  ';he 
description  from  Stone's  Narrative^  a  work  that  is  now  exceedingly  rare 
and  difficult  to  obtain  : 

"  xlt  half-past  eight  o'clock,  the  Corporation  and  their  invited  guests 
assembled  in  the  Sessions  Room  at  the  City  Hall,  and  at  a  quarter  before 
nine  proceeded  to  the  steam-boats  Washington^  Fulton^  and  Providencey 
stationed  at  the  foot  of  Whitehall  street.  At  the  same  place  was  also 
stationed  the  Commerce,  Captain  Seymour,  with  the  elegant  safety-barge» 
Lady  Clintoyi.  This  barge,  with  the  Lady  Van  Rensselaer,  had  been  set 
apart  by  the  Corporation  for  the  reception  of  the  invited  ladies,  with  their 
attendants.  The  Lady  Clinton  was  decorated  with  a  degree  of  taste  and 
elegance  which  was  equally  delightful  and  surprising.  From  stem  to 
stern  she  was  ornamented  with  evergreens  hung  in  festoons  and  inter- 
twined with  roses  of  various  hues,  China  astres,  and  many  other  flowers 
alike  beautiful.  In  one  of  the  niches  below  the  upper  deck  was  the 
bust  of  Clinton,  the  brow  being  encircled  with  a  wreath  of  laurel  and 
roses.  Mrs.  Clinton,  as  well  as  many  other  distinguished  ladies,  was  on 
board  of  the  barge,  which,  though  the  party  was  select,  was  much 
crowded.  Capt.  Seymour,  however,  paid  every  attention  to  his  beautiful 
charge ;  every  countenance  beamed  with  satisfaction  and  every  eye 
sparkled  with  delight. 

A  few  minutes  after  nine  o'clock,  the  whole  being  on  board,  the 
fleet  from  Albany,  as  before  mentioned,  led  by  the  flag-ship  of  the  Admi- 
ral, came  round  from  the  North  and  proceeded  up  the  East  Eiver  to  the 
Navy  Yard,  where  salutes  were  fired,  and  the  sloop  of  war  Cyane,  was 
dressed  in  the  colors  of  all  nations.  While  here  the  flag- ship  took  on 
board  the  officers  of  that  station,  together  with  their  fine  band  of  music. 
The  officers  stationed  at  West  Point,  with  the  celebrated  band  from  that 
place,  having  been  received  on  board  on  the  preceding  evening,  were  like- 


Salina,  forming  a  group  of  about  as  rough-looking  specimens  of  humanity  as  I  had 
ever  seen.  Their  wild  visages,  beards  thick  and  long,  and  matted  hair,  even  now 
rise  up  in  dark,  distant,  and  picturesque  effect  before  me.  It  was  in  October,  and  a 
flurry  of  snow  during  the  night  had  rendered  the  morning  aspect  of  the  country 
more  dreary  than  the  evening  before.  The  few  houses,  standing  upon  low  and 
marshy  ground,  and  surrounded  by  trees  and  tangled  thickets,  presented  a  very 
uninviting  scene.  *  Mr.  Foreman,'  said  I,  *  do  you  call  this  a  village  ?  It  would  make 
an  owl  weep  to  fly  over  it.'  *  Never  mind,'  said  he  in  reply,  '  you  will  live  to  see  it  a 
city  yetP"  Mr.  Stone,  did,  indeed,  live  to  see  it  a  city,  when  he  wrote  the  above  in 
1840,  with  a  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  and  a  population  of  more  than  twelve  thousand 

*  See  page  105. 


197 

wise  on  board  of  the  Chancellor  Livingston.  On  returning  from  the  Navy 
Yard,  the  steam-boat  OusatonicToi  Derby,  joined  the  fleet.  The  wharves  and 
shores  of  Brooklyn,  the  Heights,  and  the  roofs  of  many  of  the  buildings, 
were  crowded  with  people  to  an  extent  little  anticipated,  and  only  exceeded 
by  the  thick  masses  of  population  which  lined  the  shores  of  New  York, 
as  far  as  Corlaer's  Hook.  The  fleet  having  arrived  between  the  east  end 
of  the  Battery  and  Governor's  Island,  was  joined  by  the  ship  Hamlet, 
before  mentioned.  While  the  commander  was  signaling  the  various 
vessels,  and  they  were  maneuvering  about  to  take  their  stations,  the  spec- 
tacle was  beautiful  beyond  measure.  Long  before  this  time,  however, 
our  city  had  been  pouring  forth  its  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  ; 
Castle  Garden,  the  Battery,  and  every  avenue  to  the  water,  were  thronged 
to  a  degree  altogether  beyond  precedent.  The  ships  and  vessels  in  the 
harbor  were  filled,  even  to  their  rigging  and  tops.  And  the  movements 
in  forming  the  order  of  the  aquatic  procession,  gave  opportunity  to  all 
to  observe  the  several  vessels  in  every  advantageous  and  imposing  situa- 
tion. Loud  cheers  resounded  from  every  direction,  which  were  often 
returned.  Everything  being  in  readiness,  and  every  boat  crowded  to  the 
utmost,  the  fleet  taldng  a  semi-circular  sweep  toward  Jersey  City,  and  back 
obliquely  in  the  direction  of  the  lower  point  of  Governor's  Island,  pro- 
ceeded down  the  bay  in  the  order  detailed  in  the  official  report  *of  the 
Admiral,  each  boat  and  ship  maintaining  the  distance  of  one  hundred 
feet  apart. 

The  ship  Hamlet  was  taken  in  tow  by  the  Oliver  Ellsworth  and 
Bolivar^  and  assumed  and  maintained  its  place  in  splendid  style.  Four 
pilot-boats  were  also  towed  by  other  steam-boats,  together  with  the  fol- 
lowing boats  of  the  Whitehall  Watermen,  all  tastefully  decorated,  \iz.  : 
The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  Lispatch,  Express,  Brandywine,  Sylph,  Active,  and 
Whitehall,  Junior. 

The  sea  was  tranquil  and  smooth  as  the  summer  lake  :  and  the  mist 
which  came  on  between  seven  and  eight  in  the  morning  having  partially 
floated  away,  the  sun  shone  bright  and  beautiful  as  ever.  As  the  boats 
passed  the  Battery  they  were  saluted  by  the  military,  the  revenue  cutter, 
and  the  castle  on  Governor's  Island ;  ond  on  passing  the  Narrows,  they 
were  also  saluted  by  Forts  Lafayette  and  Tompkins.  They  then  pro- 
ceeded to  the  United  States  schooner  Porpoise,  Captain  Zantzinger, 
moored  within  Sandy  Hook,  at  the  point  where  the  grand  ceremony  was 
to  be  performed.  A  deputation,  composed  of  Aldermen  King  and 
Taylor,  was  then  sent  on  board  the  steam-boat  Chancellor  Livingston,  to 
accompany  his  Excellency,  the  Governor,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  and 
the  several  committees  from  Buffalo,  Utica,  Albany,  and  other  places,  on 
board  the  steam-boat  Washington. 

The  boats  were  thereupon  formed  in  a  circle  around  the  schooner 
preparatory  to  the  ceremony  ;  when  Mr.  Bhind,  addressing  the  Governor, 


198 

remarked  '  that  he  had  a  request  to  make  which  he  was  confident  it 
would  afford  his  Excellency  great  pleasure  to  grant.  He  was  desirous  of 
preserving  a  portion  of  the  water  used  on  this  memorable  occasion,  in 
order  to  send  it  to  our  distinguished  friend  and  late  illustrious  visitor,  Major- 
General  Lafayette;  and  for  that  purpose  Messrs.  Dummer  &  Co.  had  pre- 
pared some  bottles  of  American  fabric  for  the  occasion,  and  they  were  to 
be  conveyed  to  the  General  in  a  box  made  by  Mr.  D.  Phyfe  from  a  log  of 
cedar  brought  from  Erie  in  the  Seneca  Chief.''  The  Governor  replied  that 
a  more  pleasing  task  could  not  have  been  imposed  upon  him,  and 
expressed  his  acknowledgments  to  Mr.  Rhind  for  having  suggested  the 
measure. 

His  Excellency,  Governor  Clinton,  then  proceeded  to  perform  the 
ceremony  of  commingling  the  waters  of  the  Lakes  with  the  Ocean,  by 
pouring  a  keg  of  that  of  Lake  Erie  into  the  Atlantic ;  upon  which  he 
delivered  the  following  address  : 

'  This  solemnity,  at  this  place,  on  the  first  arrival  of  vessels  from 
Lake  Erie,  is  intended  to  indicate  and  commemorate  the  navigable  com- 
munication, which  has  been  accomplished  between  our  Mediterranean 
Seas  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean  in  about  eight  years,  to  the  extent  of  more 
than  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles,  by  the  wisdom,  public  spirit, 
and  energy  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  New  York  ;  and  may  the  God 
of  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth  smile  most  propitiously  on  this  work,  and 
render  it  subservient  to  the  best  interests  of  the  human  race.' 

Doctor  Mitchill,  whose  extensive  correspondence  with  almost  every 
part  of  the  world  enables  him  to  fill  his  cabinet  with  everything  rare  and 
curious,  then  completed  the  ceremony  by  pouring  into  the  briny  deep 
bottles  of  water  from  the  Ganges  and  Indus  of  Asia ;  the  Nile  and  the 
Gambia  of  Africa ;  the  Thames,  the  Seine,  the  Rhine,  and  the  Danube, 
of  Europe ;  the  Mississippi  and  Columbia  of  North,  and  the  Oronoko, 
La  Plata,  and  Amazon,  of  South  America.  The  learned  doctor  availed 
himself  of  this  occasion  to  deliver  the  peculiar  and  interesting  address 
which  will  be  found  in  this  collection,  and  which  so  happily  illustrates 
the  uses  of  types  and  symbols.  The  Honorable  Cadwallader  D.  Colden 
then  presented  to  the  Mayor  the  able  Memoir  upon  the  subject  of  Canals 
and  Inland  Navigation  in  general,  which  forms  the  first  part  of  the 
present  volume. 

Never  before  was  there  such  a  fleet  collected,  and  so  superbly  deco- 
rated ;  and  it  is  very  possible  that  a  display  so  grand,  so  beautiful,  and 
we  may  even  add,  sublime,  will  never  be  witnessed  again.  We  know  of 
nothing  with  which  it  can  be  compared.  The  naval  fete  given  by  the 
Prince  Regent  of  England,  upon  the  Thames,  during  the  visit  of  the 
Allied  Sovereigns  of  Europe  to  London,  after  the  dethronement  of  Napo- 
leon, has  been  spoken  of  as  exceeding  everything  of  the  kind  hitherto 
witnessed  in  Europe.     But  gentlemen  who  had  an  opportunity  of  wit- 


199 

nesskig  both,  have  declared  that  the  spectacle  in  the  waters  of  New  York 
so  far  transcended  that  in  the  metropolis  of  England,  as  scarcely  to 
admit  of  a  comparison.  The  day,  as  we  have  before  remarked,  was 
uncommonly  fine.  No  winds  agitated  the  surface  of  the  mighty  deep, 
and  during  the  performance  of  the  ceremonies,  the  boats  with  their  gay 
decorations,  lay  motionless  in  beauty.  The  orb  of  day  darted  his  genial 
rays  upon  the  bosom  of  the  waters,  where  they  played  as  tranquilly  as 
upon  the  natural  mirror  of  a  secluded  lake.  Indeed  the  elements  seemed 
to  repose,  as  if  to  gaze  upon  each  other,  and  participate  in  the  beauty 
and  grandeur  of  the  sublime  spectacle.  Every  object  appeared  to  pause 
as  if  to  invite  reflection  and  prepare  the  mind  for  deep  impressions — 
impressions  which,  while  we  feel  them  stealing  upon  the  soul,  impart  a 
consciousness  of  their  durability.  It  was  one  of  those  few  bright  visions 
whose  evanescent  glory  is  allowed  to  light  up  the  path  of  human  life — 
which,  as  they  are  passing,  we  feel  can  never  return,  and  which,  in  dif- 
fusing a  sensation  of  pleasing  melancholy,  consecrates,  as  it  were,  all 
surrounding  objects,  even  to  the  atmosphere  we  inhale  ! 

While  the  fleet  was  here  at  anchor,  a  deputation  from  the  members 
of  the  Assembly  from  different  parts  of  the  State,  who  were  on  board 
one  of  the  steam-boats  as  guests  of  the  Corporation,  preceded  by  Clarkson 
CroHus,  Esq.,  their  Speaker,  paid  a  visit  to  the  Seneca  Chief,  to  reciprocate 
congratulations  with  the  Buffalo  committee  on  the  completion  of  the 
Grand  Canal,  to  which  the  Legislature,  of  whom  they  were  members,  had 
made  the  last  and  finishing  appropriation. 

Every  thing  being  made  ready  for  returning  to  the  city,  salutes  were 
fired  from  the  revenue  cutter,  the  pilot-boats,  several  of  the  steam-boats, 
and  from  the  "  Young  Lion  of  the  West,"  who  having  prepared  himself 
mth  a  pair  of  brazen  lungs  at  Rochester,  often  mingled  his  roar  with 
that  of  the  artillery  with  which  he  was  saluted  on  his  passage  down. 
AVhile  passing  up  the  Narrows  the  passengers  on  board  of  the  differeiit 
boats  partook  of  elegant  collations.  The  Corporation,  with  their  guests, 
dined  on  board  of  the  Washington,  the  Mayor  presiding,  assisted  by 
Aldermen  King  and  Taylor. 

When  approaching  the  British  armed  vessels  before  mentioned,  the 
latter  fired  another  salute.  In  consequence  of  this  compliment,  a  signal 
was  immediately  made  from  the  flag-ship,  and  the  whole  squadron  passed 
round  them  in  a  circle.  The  United  States  schooner  Porpoise  manned 
her  yards  and  gave  the  Britons  three  cheers,  which  were  returned. 
While  performing  this  circular  maneuver,  the  British  bands  struck  up 
'  Yankee  Doodle  ;'  in  return  for  which  act  of  courtesy  the  American  bands 
as  they  passed  the  other  side,  successively  played  '  God  save  the  King.' 
Another  circumstance  connected  with  these  demonstrations  of  good  feel- 
ing must  not  be  omitted  :  On  board  of  the  Swallow  an  elegant  breakfast 
was   given   in   honor  of  the    occasion,   by   her   commander,  Lieutenant 


200  1 

1 

Baldock,  to  a  numerous  company  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  on  which         i 
occasion  was   tastefully  displayed  a  series  of  elegant  and   appropriate         j 
drawings,  in  water  colors,  representing  Britannia,  Columbia,  the  Eagle 
the  Lion,  and  an  English  and  American  Sailor,  Neptune,  Liberty,  and  the 
flags  and  shields  of  both  nations,  all  classically  arranged,  denoting  good         ' 
feeling,  fellowship,  and  union  of  sentimert.      There  were  also  round  one 
of  the  devices  for  a  tower  two  designs  of  canal  basins,  with  double  locks         \ 
— one  as  coming  through  Welch  mountains,  the  other  as  through  Amer-         i 
ican  mountains  of  granite ;  and  on  their  basements  were  conspicuously         i 
inscribed,  '  Clixtox,'  and  '  Bridgewater,'  in  honor  of  men  whose  pursuits 
in  each  country  were  so  similar.     The  whole   was    designed    by   J.    B. 
Smith,  and  executed  by  hiai  and  an  assistant. 

One  reflection  occurred  to  us  when  the  fleet  was  below  the  Narrows,         I 
which,  although  it  has  no  immediate  relation  to  the  time  or  the  occasion, 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  :   When  we  viewed  the  number  and  ton-         | 
nage  of  the  steam-boats  employed,  and  the  countless  multitude  of  passen-         * 
gers  borne  upon  their  spacious  decks,  we  could  not  but  reflect  upon  the         | 
facilities  of  defense  which,  by  means  of  steam  navigation,  our  city  would        I 
possess  in  the    event  of  hostilities  with  any  maritime  power,   atid  an        , 
attempt  upon  our  lives  and  property  from  this  direction.     There  were  out        j 
upon  this  occasion,  besides  other  craft  of  magnitude,  no  less  than  twenty-         ' 
nine  steam-boats,  each  capable  of  carrying  from  twelve  to    twenty-four 
guns,  and  from  one  to  five  hundred  men.       And  from  the  readiness  with 
which  this  force  assembled,  and  from  the  rapid  multiplication  of  vessels 
of  this  description  with  the  increase  of  business  in  our  metropolis,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  even  at  the  present  moment  fifty  boats,  with  ten  thou- 
sand men  and  six  or  seven  hundred  guns,  might  be  collected,  prepared, 
and  sent  to  repel  an  approaching  naval  armament,  in  one,  or  at  most,         i 
two  days.     Neither  winds  nor  tides  could  stay  their  progress,  or  control        \ 
their  movements.     They  could  choose  their  own  time,  position,  and  points         | 
of  attack;  and  tremendous  must  be  the  power  that  could  successfully        j 
oppose  and  superhuman  the  skill  that  could  baffle  an  expedition  of  this        ' 
kind,  directed  by  the  hand  of  valor  and   sustained  by  the  unconquerable 
spirit  of  freemen ! 

The  head  of   the  land  procession,  under  Major-General  Fleming, 
Marshal  of  the   day,  assisted  by  Colonels  King  and  Jones,  Major  Low,        | 
and  Mr.  Yan  Winkle,  had  already  arrived  on  the  Battery,  where  it  was        { 
designed  the  whole  should  pass  in  review  before   the   Corporation  and 
their  guests,  and  the  spectators  on  board  of  the  other  boats,  which  lay  to 
near  the  shore,  to  afford  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  cars,  and  banners,         ' 
and  other  decorations  of  the  several  societies,  professions,  and  callings,  who 
had  turned  out  in  the  city  in  honor  of  the   event  commemorated.     The 
Wmhinjfon  and   Chancellor  Livingston  ran  into  the  Pier  No.  1,  in  the  East         ; 
Eiver,  and  landed  the  Corporation  and  their  friends,  at  the  proper  time         j 


201 

for  them  to  fall  into  the  rear  of  the  procession.    The  fleet  then  dispersed, 
each  vessel  repairing  to  its  own  moorings. 

****** 
Thus  passed  a  day  so  glorious  to  the  State  and  city,  and  so  deeply 
interesting  to  the  countless  thousands  who  were  permitted  to  behold  and 
mingle  in  its  exhibitions.     We  have  before  said  that  all  attempts  at  des- 
cription must  be  utterly  in  vain.     Others  can  comprehend  the  greatness 
of  the  occasion ;  the  Grand  Canal  is  completed,  and  the  waters  of  Lake 
Erie  have  been  borne  upon  its  surface,  and  mingled  with  the  ocean.     But 
it  is  only  those  who  were  present,  and  beheld  the  brilliant  scenes  of  the 
day,   that  can   form   any    adequate    idea  of  their   grandeur,  and  of  the 
joyous   feelings   which   pervaded   all   ranks  of  the   community.     Never 
before  has  been  presented  to  the  sight  a  fleet  so  beautiful  as  that  which 
then  graced  our  waters.     The  numerous  array  of  steam-boats  and  barges 
proudly  breasting  the  billows  and  dashing  on  their  way  regardless  of 
opposing  winds  and  tides ;  the  flags  of  all  nations,  and  banners  of  every 
hue,   streaming   splendidly  in  the  breeze  ;  the  dense  columns  of  black 
smoke  ever  and  anon  sent  up  from  the  boats,  now  partially  obscuring  the 
view,  and   now  spreading  widely  over  the   sky  and  softening  down  the 
glare  of   light   and  color ;    the  roar  of  cannon  from  the   various  forts, 
accompanied  by  heavy  volumes  of  white    smoke,  contrasting  finely  with 
the    smoke   from   the    steam-boats ;  the    crowds   of   happy   beings  who 
thronged    the   decks,  and  the   voice  of  whose  joy  was  mingled  with  the 
sound  of  music,  and   not  unfrequently  drowned   by  the    hissing  of  the 
steam ;  all  these,  and  a  thousand  other  circumstances,  awakened  an  inter- 
est so  intense,  that  '  the  eye  could  not  be  satisfied  with  seeing  nor  the 
ear   with   hearing.'      We  rejoiced,  and   all   who    were   there   rejoiced ; 
although  as  we  looked  upon  the    countless  throng,   we  could   not  but 
remember  the  exclamation  of  Xerxes,  and  feel  that  '  an  hundred  years 
hence,  not  one  of  all  that  vast  multitude  will  be  alive.'     The  splendor  of 
beauty  and  the  triumph  of  art,  serve  to  excite,  to  dazzle,  and  often  to 
improve  the   condition  and  promote  the  welfare  of   mankind ;  but  the 
'  fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away ;'   beauty  and  art,  with  all  their 
triumphs  and  splendors,  endure  but  for  a  season ;  and  earth  itself,  with 
all  its  lakes  and  oceans,  is  only  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance,  in  the 
sight  of  Him  who  dwells  beyond  the  everlasting  hills." 

That  this  joy  was  not  ill-timed  and  excessive,  the  steady  increase  of 
the  productiveness  of  the  State  afibrds  conclusive  proof. 

The  following  statistics  have  been  kindly  furnished  me  by  my  friend, 
the  Hon.  Nathaniel  S.  Benton,  for  many  years  an  able  Canal  Auditor : 

The  amount  of  tolls  in  1823  was  $199,655.08;  in  1866,  $3,966,522.52; 
and  the  total  amount  of  tolls,  from  1823  to  1866  inclusive,  $90,153,279.19. 
The  amount  of  tons  going  to  tide-water  is  given  in  the  report  only  as  far 
back  as  1836.     In  1836,  the  number  of  tons  going  to  tide-water  over  the 


202 

Canal  was  only  419,125;    in    1866,   2,523,664,  and   the   total  amount 
between  these  two  years  inclusive  was  52,761,967.     It  also  appears  that 
in  1837  the  estimated  value  of  all  property  transported  on  the  Canal  was 
$47,720,879;  in  1865,  $186,114,718;  and  between  these  years  inclusive, 
$3,439,407,522.     The  amount  of  tons  that  came  to  this  city  in  1857,  with- 
out breaking  bulk,  was  381,390  ;  in  1866,  1,633,172  ;  and  between  those 
years,  11,775,396.     This  ratio  of  increase  seems  to  be  broken  in  upon 
only  in  one  particular,  viz.,  i;i  the  amount  of  tons — the  product  of  the 
State  itself — arriving  at  tide- water.     In  1836,  this  was  364,901 ;  and  in 
1865, 173,538.     Here  the  previous  rule  is  reversed,  and  instead  of  a  gain 
there  is  a  considerable  falhng  off.     This,  however,  is  not  to  be  attributed 
to  a  decrease  in  production,  but  in  the  fact  that  the  channels  by  which 
produce  is  conveyed  to  the  city  are  becoming  more  numerous  each  suc- 
ceeding year.     This  is  evident,   if  the  amount  brought  down  by  the 
Champlain  Canal  for  1866  (561,053)  be  added,  which  gives  a  total  of 
734,591.     And  if  to  this  could  be  added  the  amount  of  tons  that  now  go 
by  way  of  the  Central  and  other  rail-roads  of  the  State,  which  otherwise 
would  have  gone  by  the  Canal,  the  sum  would  be  very  greatly  increased. 
Indeed,  this  element  of  transportation  by  rail  must  be  taken  into  calcu- 
lation in  forming  a  correct  estimate  of  the  importance  of  the  Canal.     It 
will  be  seen  by  the  figures  given  above,  that,  with  the  exception  just 
mentioned,  the  Canal  shows  a  steady  increase  in  its  tolls  and  tonnage, 
notwithstanding  the  vast  amount  of  freight  yearly  diverted  from  it  by  the 
rail-roads,  and  by  vessels  which  now  convey  considerable  freight  from 
Buffalo  direct  to  Europe,  which  formerly  was  brought  to  this  city  for 
shipment  abroad.     And  to  this  must  also  be  added  the  large  amount  of 
trade  which  has  been  directed  by  various  channels  into  the  Western  States. 
Many  who  at  the  time  regarded  the  supporters  of  the  "  Big  Ditch  " 
as  enthusiastic  and  visionary,  have  hved  to  see  their  most  sanguine  pre- 
dictions more  than  realized.     These  figures,  also,  refute  the  opinion  which 
one  of  our  greatest  statesmen,  whose  zeal  for  internal  improvements  could 
not  be  questioned,  was  known  to  have  expressed,  that  this  enterprise  had 
been  undertaken  a  hundred  years  too  soon,  and  that,  until  the  lapse  of 
another  century,  the  strength  of  our  population  and  our  resources  would 
be  inadequate  to  such  a  work. 

•  The  report  of  the  Auditor  gives  also  the  cost  of  the  enlargement  up 
to  the  close  of  1866,  viz.,  $33,080,613.80.  The  original  cost  was  $7,143,- 
789.86  ;  the  total  cost,  therefore,  up  to  the  present  time,  is  $40,224,403.66. 
Two  years  after  the  Erie  Canal  Celebration  (in  1827),  the  Merchants) 
Exchange  in  Wall  street,  begun  in  1825,  was  completed;  and  in  the 
same  year,  Masonic  Hall,  opposite  the  New  York  Hospital,  the  Arcade 
in  Maiden  Lane,  and  other  buildings  of  more  or  less  interest,  were  also 
erected.  It  has  been  the  fashion  of  late  years  to  speak  of  the  changes  • 
that  have  taken  place  in  New  York  City  as  of  recent  date.     This,  how- 


203 

ever,  is  a  mistake.  Modern  New  York  begins  in  reality,  about  the  year 
1820,  at  which  time  the  "march  of  internal  improvement"  (so  called^ 
began  to  level  the  most  interesting  of  our  city  landmarks.  Indeed,  as 
late  as  1827,  Exchange  Place  was  Garden  street,  Beaver  street  was 
Exchange  street,  and  Hanover  street  was  unknown.  Garden  street, 
ending  in  what  is  now  Hanover  street,  was  connected  with  Exchange 
street,  and  Pearl  street  by  Sloat  Lane.  This  narrow  lane  was  afterwards 
widened  and  extended  through  to  Wall  street,  forming  Hanover  street. 
The  triangular  block,  now  bounded  by  Beaver,  Pearl,  and  Hanover,  was 
then  bounded  on  the  north  by  Exchange  street,  on  the  east  by  a  private 
alley,  connecting  the  east  end  of  that  street  with  Pearl  at  a  point  some 
fifty  feet  this  side  of  the  present  junction,  on  the  south  by  Pearl  as  now, 
and  on  the  west  by  Sloat  Lane.  Beaver  street  was  subsequently  opened 
through  on  its  present  line,  and  the  private  alley  was  closed  up  and  built 
upon. 

In  1829,  an  old  resident  of  New  York,  returning  to  the  city,  after  an 
absence  of  several  years,  was  so  struck  with  the  changes  which  had  taken 
place,  both  in  the  people  and  in  the  buildings,  that  he  gave  them  to  the 
pubhc  in  two  very  interesting  letters.*  The  reminiscences  contained  in 
them  are  of  great  value,  as  tending  to  preserve  that  which  otherwise 
must  have  fallen  into  oblivion.  New  York  has,  it  is  true,  reached  a  proud 
mercantile  position  ;  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  that,  on  this  account 
she  has  no  traditions  other  than  those  associated  with  trade.  To  assume 
this  would  be  as  unjust  as  it  is  untrue.  Many  memories  she  has,  both 
of  a  pleasant  and  a  saddening  nature.  And  while  there  are  many,  in 
this  intensely  practical  age,  who  profess  to  sneer  at  everything  in  which 
they  can  "  see  no  money,"  yet  there  are  a  few  from  whose  hearts  all 
sentiment  has  not  been  entirely  crushed  out.  It  is  for  the  benefit  of  this 
latter  class  that  we  here  reproduce  a  portion  of  the  reminiscences  just 
alluded  to.     The  writer  says  : 

"New  York  is  full  of  old  reminiscences.  Some  are  consecrated  by 
religious  feeling,  and  some  by  their  connection  with  the  poKtical  destinies 
of  our  country.  My  father  used  to  show  me,  when  a  boy,  the  spot  on 
the  North  Piver,  just  above  the  present  Barclay  Street  Ferry,  where, 
Jonathan  Edwards,  when  temporary  pastor  of  Wall  Street  Church,  used 
to  walk  backward  and  forward  on  the  solitary  pebbly  shore,  sounding  the 
depths  of  his  own  conscience,  and  drawing  '  sweet  consolation'  from  the 
rehgion  which  he  taught.  Here  he  ruminated  on  the  mysteries  of  eternal 
preordination  and  free-will,  while  fell  upon  his  ear  the  murmurs  of  that 
ocean  which  is  the  symbol  of  eternity  and  power,  and  whose  motions  are 
controlled,  hke  the  events  of  our  own  lives,  by  the  word  and  will  of  the 
Most  High.     Then  likewise  he  showed  me  the  little  church,  back  to  the 

*  Francis  Herbert,  in  the  Talisman  for  1829—1830. 


204 

site  of  the  present  Methodist  Chapel,  in  John  street,  where  Whitfield, 
as  my  father  expressed  it,  used  to  '  preach  like  a  lion,'  with  a  searching 
power  that  made  the  sinner  quail,  and  shook  and  broke  the  infidel's 
stony  heart.  It  was  in  Wall  street  that  the  apostohc  Tennant  lifted  up 
his  melodious  voice,  and  sounded  the  silver  trumpet  of  the  Gospel. 
****** 

On  the  site  of  the  present  Custom  House,*  where  the  commerce 
of  the  world  pays  its  tribute  to  the  great  treasury  of  the  nation,  stood  the 
old  City  Hall,  commanding  a  view  of  the  wide  and  winding  avenue  of 
Broad  street.  Here,  in  a  species  of  balcony,  in  the  second  story  of  the 
building,  such  as  the  Italians  call  a  loggia^  mean  in  its  materials  of  wood 
and  brick,  but  splendid  in  the  taste  and  proportions  given  to  it  by  the 
architect  L'Enfant,  the  inauguration  oath  of  the  chief  magistracy  of  the 
Union  was  administered,  by  Chancellor  Livingston,  to  Washington,  the 
first  of  our  Presidents.  In  front  of  the  building  an  innumerable  and 
silent  crowd  of  citizens,  intently  gazing  on  the  august  ceremony,  thronged 
the  spacious  street  in  front,  and  filled  Wall  street  from  WilHam  street  to 
Broadway.  Behind  the  President  elect  stood  a  group  of  the  illustrious 
fathers  of  the  nation — ^Hamilton  and  Knox,  and  the  elder  Adams  and  the 
venerable  and  learned  and  eloquent  Johnson,  and  Ellsworth  and  Sherman 
of  Connecticut,  and  Chnton  and  Chief- Justice  Morris  and  Duane  of  New 
York,  and  Boudinot  of  New  Jersey,  and  Eutledge  of  South  Carolina, 
and  less  conspicuous  in  person,  though  among  the  foremost  in  fame,  the 
Virginian,  Madison.  There,  too,  stood  the  most  revered  of  the  clergy  of 
New  York — the  venerable  Dr.  Podgers,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ; 
the  wise  and  mild  and  suasive  Dr.  Moore,  of  the  Episcopal ;  the  dignified 
and  eloquent  Dr.  Livingston,  of  the  Dutch ;  and  the  learned  Dr.  Kunze 
and  the  patriotic  Dr.  Grose,  of  the  German  churches.  Back  of  these 
stood  younger  men,  since  scarcely  less  illustrious  than  the  elder  statesmen 
I  have  mentioned — Ames,  and  Cabot,  and  Gouverneur  Morris,  majestic 
and  graceful  in  spite  of  his  wooden  leg.  But  why  should  I  attempt  to 
describe  this  great  occasion  by  words?  I  lately  looked  over  the  port- 
folio of  my  friend  Dunlap,  and  found,  among  many  other  fine  things, 
sketches  which  present  this  scene  vividly  to  the  eye,  with  the  features 
of  the  great  fmen  who  figured  in  it,  and  their  costumes  and  attitudes, 
such  as  he  himself  beheld  them.  I  wish  somebody  would  employ  him 
to  paint  a  noble  picture,  such  as  he  is  capable  of  producing,  on  this 
magnificent  subject.  The  pride  of  a  New  Yorker,  the  feelings  of  a 
patriot,  the  ambition  of  an  artist,  and  the  recollections  of  this  interesting 
ceremony,  which  still  live  in  his  memory,  would  stimulate  him  to  do  it 
ample  justice. 


Now  (1868)  Sub-Treasury. 


205 

Cedar  street,  since  that  day,  has  declined  from  its  ancient  conse- 
quence. I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Mr.  Jefferson  in  an  old  two-story 
house  in  that  street,  unbending  himself  in  the  society  of  the  learned  and 
polite  from  the  labors  of  the  bureau.  And  there  was  Talleyrand,  whom 
I  used  to  meet  at  the  houses  of  General  Hamilton  and  of  Noah  Webster, 
with  his  club-foot  and  passionless  immoveable  countenance,  sarcastic  and 
maHcious  even  in  his  intercourse  with  children.  He  was  disposed  to 
amuse  himself  with  gallantry,  too  ;  but  who  does  not  know '? — or  rather, 
who  ever  did  know  Talleyrand  ?  About  the  same  time  I  met  with 
Priestley — grave  and  placid  in  his  manners,  with  a  slight  difficulty  of 
utterance — dry,  polite,  learned^  and  instructive  in  his  conversation.  At 
a  period  somewhat  later,  I  saw  here  the  deputy  Billaud  de  Varennes, 
who  had  swayed  the  blood-thirsty  mob  of  the  Fauxbourg  St.  Antoine, 
turned  the  torrent  of  the  multitude  into  the  hall  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly,  and  reanimated  France  to  a  bolder  and  more  vigorous  resist- 
ance against  her  foreign  enemies.  I  visited  him  in  the  garret  of  a  poor 
tavern  in  the  upper  part  of  William  street,  where  he  lived  in  obscurity. 
But  why  particularize  further  ?  We  have  had  savans,  literateurs,  and 
politicians  by  the  score,  all  men  of  note,  some  good  and  some  bad — and 
most  of  whom  certainly  thought  that  they  attracted  more  attention  than 
they  did — Volney  and  Cobbett  and  Tom  Moore,  and  the  two  Michaux, 
and  the  Abbe  Correa,  and  Jeffrey,  and  others ;  the  muster-roll  of  whose 
names  I  might  call  over,  if  I  had  the  memory  of  Baron  Trenck,  and  my 
readers  the  taste  of  a  catalogue-making  librarian.  Have  we  not  jostled 
ex-kings  and  ex-empresses  and  ex-nobles  in  Broadway ;  trod  on  the  toes 
of  exotic  naturalists,  Waterloo  marshals,  and  great  foreign  academicians 
at  the  parties  of  young  ladies ;  and  seen  more  heroes  and  generals  all 
over  town  than  would  fill  a  new  Iliad  ? 

Pensive  memory  turns  to  other  worthies,  no  less  illustrious  in  their 
way.  There  was  Billy  the  Fiddler  and  his  wife,  whom  no  one  having 
seen,  could  ever  forget,  and  no  one  who  had  music  in  his  soul,  remember, 
without  regretting  that  such  a  fiddle  should  ever  have  been  hanged  up. 
Billy  had  been  a  favorite  of  Mozart,  at  Vienna,  and  used  to  say  that  he 
had  composed  one  (I  forget  which)  of  his  six  celebrated  sonatas ;  though 
I  believe  he  drew  rather  too  long  a  bow  when  he  made  this 
statement.  He  was  about  four  feet  six  inches  in  height,  with  a 
foot  as  long  as  a  fourth  of  his  stature.  His  head  was  not 
disproportionate,  as  those  of  dwarfs  usually  are ;  but  he  had 
their  characteristic  petulance ;  and  the  irritability  of  his  temper 
was  certainly  not  improved  by  the  enforced  attendance  of  a  retinue  of 
idle  boys,  who  always  formed  his  suite  when  he  walked  forth  in  the 
streets.  His  wife  was  a  suitable  companion  for  him  as  to  personal 
appearance  and  height;  and  it  seemed,  on  looking  at  the  couple,  to  be  not 
at   all  wonderful  how  the  Germans  came  by  their  wild  and  droll  concep- 


•206 

tions  of  goblins  and  elves.  But  I  never  heard  of  any  other  magic  prac- 
ticed by  Billy,  except  that  the  sweet  and  enlivening  strains  of  his  violin 
made  the  young  masters  and  misses,  at  whose  juvenile  parties  he 
officiated,  dance  off  the  soles  of  their  shoes  and  stockings ;  and  that  they 
would  have  begun  upon  their  tender  skins,  if  they  had  not  been  discreetly 
carried  home. 

There  was  also  the  family  of  the  Hewletts,  which,  from  tradition  or 
observation,  I  may  say  I  know  for  four  generations, — cotemporaries  of 
the  successive  Vestrises.  Indeed,  according  to  the  family  record,  the 
first  Hewlett  was  a  pupil  of  the  first  Yestris,  and  a  favorite  disciple  of 
that  great  master ;  who  only  complained  that  he  was  not  sufficiently 
leger  in  his  accents,  nor  quite  de  plomh  enough  in  his  descents  ;  but  certi- 
fied, that  for  grace,  agility,  and  science,  he  was  the  prince  of  his  eleves. 
The  opinions  of  those,  successively  educated  under  the  successive  dy- 
nasties of  these  masters  of  aerial  gymnastics,  as  fashion  controlled  both 
teachers  and  scholars,  '  and  as  longer  puflfs  and  louder  fiddles' 
brought  other  professors  of  the  graces  of  motion  forward,  varied 
as  to  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  their  several  excellencies ; 
still  the  Hewletts  kept  their  ground.  They  out-lived  the  Eevolution  of 
Seventy-Six ; — Trinity  Church  was  pulled  down — the  Governor's  Court 
fled  from  the  Battery  ;  but  they  kept  the  field,  like  the  trumpeters  of 
chivalry.  They  taught  dancing  to  the  belles,  who  captivated  the  Mem- 
bers of  the  first  Congress ;  and  tried  to  teach  some  of  the  Members 
themselves.  Then  came  the  horriUe  French  Eevolution ;  and  in  that 
terrible  storm  which  overthrew  the  landmarks  of  the  old  world,  new 
manners  and  new  teachers  were  drifted  on  our  shores,  and  the  Hewletts 
went  out  of  vogue.  There  must  be  few  who  have  dwelt  in  this  now  all- 
be-metamorphosed  city,  even  fo»  six  years  last  past,  who  have  not  had 
occasion  to  observe  the  dapper  legs  and  silken  hose  of  the  last  of  this 
line.  But  they  will  be  seen  no  more.  David  Hewlett  is  dead  !  and  as 
he  trod  lightly  upon  the  earth,  may  the  earth  lie  lightly  on  him.  He 
was  a  gentleman,  every  inch  of  him.  He  was  the  last  of  the  anti- 
Bevolutionary  dancing-masters;  a  kind,  good,  humble  man.  At  St. 
Paul's  I  always  found  him,  repeating  the  service  with  a  formality, 
which  was  the  result  of  decorous  habit,  and  a  fervor  which  could  only 
have  come  warm  from  the  heart.  Again  I  say,  light  be  the  earth  above 
him !  and  he  must  have  a  stern,  hard  heart,  who  can  scoff  at  my  honest 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  my  old  dancing-master. 

My  reminiscences  of  New  York,  or  rather  the  people  that  have  been 
in  it,  come  before  my  mind  in  pretty  much  the  same  order  that  'jewels 
and  shells,  sea- weed  and  straw,'  are  raked  by  *  old  father  Time  from 
the  ocean  of  the  past,'  according  to  Milton  or  Bacon,  or  some  other 
-ancient  writer  of  eminence.  I  had  an  uncle,  who  was  a  prudent 
man,    in   all   his    transactions ;  and   who,  from  patriotic  considerations. 


207 

waited  for  the  development  of  events,  before  he  took  any  part  in  the 
Bevolutionary  War.  He  had  many  of  what  might  be  called  Tory  recollec- 
tions of  that  period.  He  knew  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  when  he  came  here 
as  a  midshipman ;  skated  with  him  on  the  Collect,  where  now  stands 
the  arsenal  and  the  gas  manufactory,  and  helped  out  of  a  hole  in  the  ice 
him  who  is  now  official  head  of  the  English  navy,  and  who  may  probably 
wield  ere  long  the  scepter  of  the  British  Empire.  In  walking  along 
Broadway,  he  has  often  pointed  out  to  me  the  small  corner-room  in  the 
second  story  in  the  house  in  Wall  street,  opposite  Grace  Church,  then 
and  long  after  occupied  by  Dr.  Tillary,  a  Scotchman  (formerly  a  surgeon 
and  afterward  an  eminent  physician),  and  told  me  how  he  used,  at  the 
period  referred  to,  to  eat  oysters  there,  in  the  American  fashion,  with  his 
Eoyal  Highness,  who  preferred  them  to  the  copper-flavored  productions 
of  the  British  Channel. 

Pine  street  is  now  full  of  blocks  of  tall,  massive  buildings,  which 
overshadow  the  narrow  passage  between,  and  make  it  one  of  the 
gloomiest  streets  in  New  York.  The  very  bricks  there  look  of  a  darker 
hue  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  city  ;  the  rays  of  the  sun  seem  to  come 
through  a  J"yellower  and  thicker  atmosphere,  and  the  shadows  thrown 
there  by  moonlight  seem  of  a  blacker  and  more  solid  darkness  than  else- 
where. The  sober  occupations  of  the  inhabitants  also,  who  are  learned 
members  of  the  bar  nearest  Broadway,  and  calculating  wholesale  mer- 
chants as  you  approach  the  East  Biver,  inspire  you  with  ideas  of  sedate- 
ness  and  gravity  as  you  walk  through  it.  It  was  not  thus  thirty  or  forty 
years  ago.  Shops  were  on  each  side  of  the  way — low,  cheerful-looking 
two-story  buildings,  of  light-colored  brick  or  wood,  painted  white  or 
yellow,  and  which  scarcely  seemed  a  hindrance  to  the  air  and  sunshine. 
Among  these  stood  the  shop  of  Auguste  Louis  de  Singeron,  celebrated 
for  the  neatness  and  quality  of  its  confectionary  and  pastry,  and  for  the 
singular  manners  of  its  keeper,  who  was  at  once  the  poHtest  and  most 
passionate  of  men.  He  was  a  French  emigrant,  a  courtier  and  a  war- 
rior, a  man  of  diminutive  size,  but  of  a  most  chivalrous,  courteous,  and 
undaunted  spirit.  He  might  be  about  five  feet  two  inches  in  height ; 
his  broad  shoulders  overshadowed  a  pair  of  legs  under^the  common  size, 
his  fiery  red  hair  was  tied  into  a  club  behind,  and  combed  fiercely  up  in 
front ;  the  upper  part  of  his  cheek-bones,  the  tip  of  his  nose,  and  the 
peak  of  his  chin,  were  tinged  with  a  bright  scarlet ;  his  voice  was  an 
exaggeration  of  the  usual  sharp  tones  of  his  nation,  and  his  walk  was 
that  of  a  man  who  walks  for  a  wager.  He  was  the  younger  son  of  a 
noble  family ;  and  having  a  commission  in  the  French  army,  was  one  of 
the  officers  who  defended  the  Tuillieries  on  the  melancholy  night  of  the 
10th  of  August,  1792,  when  the  palace  streamed  with  blood,  and  the 
devoted  adherents  of  the  King  were  bayoneted  in  the  corridors,  or 
escaped  only  to  be  proscribed  and  hunted  down  hke  wolves.     Auguste  de 


208 

Singeron  made  his  way  to  L' Orient,  took  passage  to  the  United  States, 
and  landed  at  New  York  without  a  penny  in  his  pocket.  His  whole 
inventory  consisted  of  a  cocked  hat,  a  rusty  suit  of  black,  a  cane,  a  small 
sword,  a  white  pocket-handkerchief  and  shirts,  if  I  am  justified  in  speak- 
ing of  them  in  the  plural,  the  exact  number  of  which  cannot  now  be 
known,  as  he  never  chose  to  reveal  it,  but  looked  as  if  they  had  never 
been  brought  acquainted  with  the  nymphs  of  the  fountains.  He  at  first 
betook  himself  to  the  usual  expedient  of  teaching  French  for  a  livelihood  ; 
but  it  would  not  do.  He  lost  all  patience  at  correcting,  for  the  twentieth 
time,  the  same  blunder  in  the  same  pupil ;  he  showed  no  mercy  to  an 
indelicate  coupling  of  different  genders ;  and  fell  upon  a  false  tense  with 
as  much  impetuosity  as  he  had  once  rushed  upon  the  battery  of  an 
enemy.  But  if  he  got  into  a  passion  suddenly,  he  got  out  of  it  as 
soon.  His  starts  of  irritation  were  succeeded  by  most  vehement  fits  of 
politeness ;  he  poured  forth  apologies  with  so  much  volubility,  and  so 
many  bows,  and  pressed  his  explanation  with  so  much  earnestness  and 
vigor,  and  such  unintelligible  precipitation,  that  his  pupils  became  giddy 
with  the  noise,  and  at  the  end  of  his  lesson  were  more  perplexed  than 
ever.  In  short,  to  apply  the  boast  of  a  celebrated  modern  instructor,  his 
disciples  were  so  well  satisfied  with  their  progress,  that  they  declined 
taking  lessons  a  second  quarter,  and  the  poor  Frenchman  was  obhged 
to  think  of  some  other  way  of  getting  a  living.  But  what  should  it 
be  ?  He  had  no  capital  and  scarcely  any  friends.  Should  he  become  a 
barber,  a  shoe-black,  a  cook,  a  fencing-master,  a  dentist,  or  a  dancing- 
master  ?  Either  of  these  occupations  was  better  than  to  beg,  to  starve, 
or  to  steal,  and  the  French  nobility  have  figured  in  them  all.  The  flexi- 
bility of  the  national  character  adapts  itself  in  mature  age  to  any  situation 
in  life  with  the  same  ease  that  people  of  other  nations  accommodate 
themselves  to  that  in  which  they  were  born.  French  marquises  have 
sweltered  in  the  kitchens  of  English  private  gentlemen,  in  greasy  caps- 
and  aprons — French  counts  have  given  the  polish  to  the  nether  extremities 
of  the  stately  Dons  of  Madrid — and  French  dukes  have  taken  German 
ones  by  the  nose.  The  graceful  courtiers,  who  led  down  the  dance  the 
high-born  dames  of  France,  have  exhausted  themselves  in  the  vain  effort 
to  teach  Yorkshiremen  to  shuffle  cotillions;  the  officers  of  his  Most  Chris- 
tian Majesty's  household  have  drawn  teeth  for  cockneys;  and  the  chevaliers 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Louis  have  given  lessons  in  the  use  of  the  broadsword 
to  men  who  afterward  figured  as  Yankee  corporals.  In  the  midst  of 
his  perplexity,  a  mere  accident  determined  tlie  future  career  of  Monsieur 
de  Singeron  :  He  had  politely  undertaken  to  assist  in  the  manufacture  of 
some  molasses-candy  for  a  httle  boy,  the  son  of  his  host;  and,  after  a 
process  attended  with  some  vexations,  during  which  the  lad  thought,  two 
or  three  times,  that  his  French  acquaintance  would  swallow  him  alive,  he 
produced  the  article  in  such  delicious  and  melting  perfection,  that  his 


209 

fame  was  quickly  spread  abroad  among  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood  as 
an  artist  of  incomparable  merit.  He  took  the  hint,  got  his  landlord  to 
assist  him  with  a  small  credit,  turned  pastry-cor)k  and  confectioner,  set 
up  at  first  in  a  small  way,  enlarged  his  business  as  he  got  customers,  and 
finally  took  a  handsome  shop  in  the  street  I  have  mentioned.  The  French 
have  as  great  a  talent  for  comfits  as  for  comphments  ;  and  the  genius  that 
shines  in  the  invention  of  an  agreeable  flattery,  displays  itself  to  no  less 
advantage  in  the  manufacture  of  a  sugar-plum.  Auguste  Louis  de 
Singeron  was  no  vulgar  imitator  of  his  clumsy  English  and  Dutch  brethren 
in  the  art.  I  speak  not  of  the  splendor  of  his  crystallizations,  of  the 
brilhant  frost-work  of  his  plum-cakes,  nor  of  the  tempting  arrangement 
he  knew  how  to  give  to  his  whole  stock  of  wares,  though  these  were  admi- 
rable. But  the  gilt  ginger-bread  I  used  to  buy  of  him, — instead  of  King 
Solomon  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba, — was  graced  with  the  stately  figures  of 
Louis  XYI  and  Marie  Antoinette,  the  Queen  standing  bolt  upright — as 
became  the  conqueror  of  hearts  and  the  mistress  of  the  finest  kingdom  in 
the  world — and  the  monarch  holding  her  hand  with  a  dehcate  inchnation 
of  his  royal  body,  as  if  acknowledging  the  empire  of  beauty.  He,  I  beheve, 
first  introduced  the  practice  of  stamping  the  New  Year's  cake  with  figures 
of  Cupids  among  roses,  and  hearts  transfixed  by  an  arrow  in  honor  of  la 
lelle  passioji.  His  marchpane  bore  an  impress  of  the  facade  of  the 
Tuilleries,  with  its  pilasters,  columns,  and  curvings ;  and  his  hlanc-mange 
was  adorned  with  a  bas-relief  of  warriors  in  bag-wigs  and  cocked  hats, 
tilting  fiercely  at  each  other  on  its  quivering  and  glancing  surface. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  courtly  and  high-bred  civility  with  which  M. 
de  Singeron  used  to  welcome  me  to  his  shop,  and  bow  me  out  of  it.  I 
have  since  seen  the  nobles  of  the  court  of  Marie  Antoinette,  and  was  no 
longer  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  graceful  manners  of  my  old  friend,  the 
confectioner.  It  was  not,  however,  quite  safe  to  presume  too  much  upon 
his  forbearance,  for  he  knew  no  medium  between  the  most  violent  irrita- 
tion and  the  most  florid  politeness.  He  had  no  patience  with  these 
people  who  stood  in  his  door  on  a  keen  windy  day,  and  would  neither 
come  in  nor  go  out.  They  always  got  from  him  a  hearty  curse  in  French, 
followed,  as  soon  as  he  could  recollect  himself,  by  something  civil  in 
English.  '  Peste  soit  de  la  hete  ' — he  used  to  say — ^fermez  done  la — I  beg 
pardon,  sare,  but  if  you  vill  shut  de  door,  you  sail  merit  my  eternel 
gratitude !'  The  fellows  who  went  about  the  streets  crying  '  good 
oysters,'  and  '  fine  Eockaway  clams,'  avoided  his  ill-omened  door  in  the 
winter  months,  taught  by  bitter  experience,  and  sundry  ungracious  and 
unexpected  raps  on  the  knuckles.  He  at  first  tried  the  plan  of  making 
them  come  in,  shut  the  door,  and  deliver  their  errand,  and  then  sending 
them  about  their  business.  This  not  succeeding,  he  tried  the  shining 
old  hgnum-vitfe  cane,  with  which  he  used  to  promenade  in  the  gardens 
of  the  Tuilleries,  and  with  much  better  efi'ect.  On  one  occasion,  however, 
14 


210 

lie  happened  to  bestow  it  ratlier  rudely  upon  the  nasal  organ  of  a  sailor- 
The  fellow's  proboscis  was  originally  of  most  unnatural  and  portentous 
dimensions  ;  it  swelled  terribly  from  the  effect  of  the  blow  ;  and,  meeting 
with  a  pettifogger,  who  told  him  it  was  a  good  case  for  damages,  he 
brought  an  action  against  the  confectioner.  Monsieur  de  Singeron  in 
vain  offered  an  apology  and  a  plaster  of  bank-notes ;  the  sailor  was  inex' 
orable,  and  insisted  on  producing  his  injured  member  before  the  seat  of 
justice.  He  did  so,  but  unluckily  the  effect  on  the  jurj  was  rather 
ludicrous  than  pathetic,  and  the  impression  it  made  was  against  the 
plaintiff,  who  got  only  ten  shillings  by  his  suit.  M.  de  Singeron  thought 
it  was  not  enough,  and  gave  the  fellow  a  five-dollar  note  besides,  which 
he  had  the  meanness  to  accept,  though  I  believe  he  blushed  as  he  did  it. 
Monsieur  de  Singeron  afterward  sold  cakes  and  confectionary  in 
William  street  and  then  in  Broadway,  and  finally  was  one  of  that  joyful 
troop  of  returning  exiles  that  flocked  back  to  France  on  the  restoration 
of  the  Bourbons.  He  was  provided  for  by  being  made  a  Colonel  of 
Cuirassiers,  and  in  the  decline  of  his  life  his  gallant  and  courteous  spirit 
was  no  longer  obliged  to  struggle  with  the  hardships  and  scorns  of 
poverty.  I  have  lately  heard,  though  indirectly,  so  that  I  cannot  vouch 
for  the  fact,  that  he  has  been  promoted  to  be  one  of  the  Marshals  of 
France. 

There  was  another  Frenchman  of  distinction,  also  of  the  old  school  of 
French  manners,  but  less  fortunate  than  Monsieur  de  Singeron,  and  who 
used  daily  to  take  his  soHtary  walk  through  Broadway.  I  allude  to 
Admiral  Pierre  de  Landais,  a  cadet  of  the  family  of  a  younger  son  of  the 
youngest  branch  of  one  of  the  oldest,  proudest,  and  poorest  famihes  in 
Normandy.  He  had  regularly  studied  in  the  Ecok  de  la  marine,  and  was 
thoroughly  instructed  in  the  mathematical  theories  of  sailing  and  building 
a  ship,  although,  like  the  rest  of  his  countrymen,  he  always  found  some 
unexpected  difficulty  in  applying  his  theory  to  practice.  For  a  Frenchman, 
however,  he  was  a  good  sailor ;  but  in  consequence  of  his  grandfather 
having  exhausted  his  patrimony  in  a  splendid  exhibition  of  fire-works  for 
the  entertainment  of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  he  had  neither  interest  at 
court  nor  money  to  purchase  court  favor.  He  was  therefore  kept  in  the 
situation  of  an  aspirant  or  midshipman,  until  he  was  thirty- two  years  old, 
and  was  kept,  I  know  not  how  many  years  more,  in  the  humble  rank  of 
sous  lieutenant.  He  served  his  country  faithfully,  and  with  great  good 
will,  until  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XVI,  a  page  of  the 
mistress  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes  came  down  to  Cherbourg  to  be  his 
captain.  While  he  was  boiling  with  indignation  at  this  affront,  the  war 
between  England  and  America  broke  out,  and  he  seized  that  opportunity 
to  enter  the  service  of  the  United  States.  There  he  at  once  rose  to  the 
command  of  a  fine  frigate,  and  the  title  of  Admiral.  Soon  afterward 
came  the  brilhant  affair  of  the  Sera^is  and  the   J^on  Momme  Richard,   in 


211 

■which  Paul  Jones,  by  his  impetuous  and  undisciplined  gallantry,  earned 
the  reputation  of  a  hero,  and  poor  Landais,  by  a  too  scrupulous  attention 
to  the  theory  of  naval  science,  incurred  that  of  a  coward.  I  believe  that 
naval  authority  is  against  me  ;  but  I  venture  to  assert,  meo  periculo^  and 
on  the  authority  of  one  of  my  uncles,  who  was  in  that  action  as  a 
lieutenant  to  Paul  Jones,  that  Landais  erred,  not]  through  any  defect  of 
bravery,  but  merely  from  his  desire  to  approach  his  enemy  scientifically 
by  bearing  down  upon  the  hypothenuse  of  the  precise  right-angled 
triangle  prescribed  in  the  thirty-seventh  '  manoeuvre  '  of  his  old  text-book. 

The  naval  committee  of  Congress  unfortunately  understood  neither 
mathematics  nor  French ;  they  could  not  comprehend  Landais'  explana- 
tions, and  he  was  thrown  out  of  service.  After  his  disgrace  he  constantly 
resided  in  the  City  of  New  York,  except  that  he  always  made  a  biennial 
visit  to  the  seat  of  government,  whether  at  Philadelphia  or  at  Washing- 
ton, to  present  a  memorial  respecting  the  injustice  done  him,  and  to  claim 
restitution  to  his  rank  and  the  arrears  of  his  pay.  An  unexpected 
dividend  of  prize-money,  earned  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  paid  in  1790,  gave  him  an  annuity  of  one  hundred  and  four 
dollars — or  rather,  as  I  think,  a  hundred  and  five — for  I  remember  his 
telling  me  that  he  had  two  dollars  a  week  on  which  to  subsist,  and  an  odd 
dollar  for  charity  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

Although  Congress,  under  the  new  Constitution,  continued  as 
obdurate  and  as  impenetrable  to  explanation  as  they  were  in  the  time  of 
the  confederation,  the  Admiral  kept  up  to  the  last  the  habits  and  exterior 
of  a  gentleman.  His  linen,  though  not  very  fine,  nor  probably  very 
whole,  was  always  clean  ;  his  coat  threadbare,  but  scrupulously  brushed, 
and  for  occasions  of  ceremonious  visiting,  he  had  a  pair  of  paste  knee- 
buckles  and  faded  yellow  silk  stockings  with  red  clocks.  He  wore  the 
American  cockade  to  the  last,  and  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  the  day  of  St. 
Louis,  and  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  the  British  troops  evacu- 
ated the  City  of  New  York,  he  periodically  mounted  his  old  Continental 
Navy  uniform,  although  its  big  brass  buttons  had  lost  their  splendor,  and 
the  skirts  of  the  coat,  which  wrapped  his  shrunken  person  like  a  cloak, 
touched  "his  heels  in  walking,  while  the  sleeves,  by  some  contradictory 
process,  had  receded  several  inches  from  the  wrists.  He  subsisted  wdth 
the  utmost  independence  on  his  scanty  income,  refusing  all  presents,  even 
the  most  trifling ;  and  when  my  naval  uncle  on  one  occasion  sent  him  a 
dozen  of  Newark  cider,  as  a  small  mark  of  his  recollection  of  certain 
hospitalities  at  the  Admiral's  table  when  in  command,  while  he  himself 
was  but  a  poor  Lieutenant,  Landais  peremptorily  refused  them,  as  a 
present  which  he  could  not  receive,  because  it  was  not  in  his  X)ower  to 
reciprocate. 

He  was  a  man  of  the  most  punctihous  and  chivalric  honor,  and  at 
the  same  time  full  of  that  instinctive  kindness  of  heart  and  that  nice 


212 

sense  of  propriety,  which  shrinks  from  doing  a  rude  thing  to  anybody  on 
any  occasion.  Even  when  he  met  his  bitterest  enemy,  as  he  did  shortly 
after  he  came  to  New  York,  the  man  whose  accusation  had  destroyed  his 
reputation  and  blighted  his  prospects,  whose  injuries  he  had  for  years 
brooded  over,  and  whom  he  had  determined  to  insult  and  punish  when- 
ever he  fell  in  with  him,  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  offer  him  an  insult 
unbecoming  a  gentleman,  but  deliberately  spitting  on  the  pavement, 
desired  his  adversary  to  consider  that  pavement  as  his  own  face,  and  to 
proceed  accordingly. 

Thus,  in  proud,  solitary,  and  honorable  poverty,  lived  Pierre  de 
Landais  for  some  forty  years,  until,  to  use  the  language  of  his  own 
epitaph,  in  the  eighty- seventh  year  of  his  age,  he  '  disappeared  '  from  life. 
As  he  left  no  property  behind  him,  and  had  no  relations  and  scarcely  any 
acquaintances  in  the  country,  it  has  always  been  a  matter  of  mystery  ta 
me  who  erected  his  monument — a  plain  white  marble  slab,  which  stands 
in  the  church-yard  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral  in  New  York,  and  on  which 
is  read  the  following  characteristic  inscription : 


t 


A    LA    JIEMOIRE 

de 
PIERRE    DE    LANDAIS, 

ANCIEN  CONTRE-AMIR.VL, 

au  service 
DES  ETATS-UNIS. 

Qui  Disparut 

Juin  1818, 
Age  b7  ans. 

Who  would  suppose  that  the  exploded  science  of  alchemy  had  ever 
its  professors  in  the  United  States,  where  the  easy  transmutation  of  the 
soil  of  the  wilderness  into  rich  possessions,  renders  unnecessary  the  art 
of  converting  dross  into  gold  ?  Yet  such  is  the  fact.  Everybody  who 
has  been  a  frequent  walker  of  Broadway,  in  any  or  all  of  the  folrty  years 
preceding  the  last  five,  must  recollect  often  meeting  a  man  whom  at  first 
he  might  not  have  particularly  noticed,  but  whose  constant  appearance  in 
the  same  part  of  the  street  at  the  same  hour  of  the  day,  and  the  pecu- 
liarities of  whose  dress  and  person  must  at  length  have  compelled  atten- 
tion. He  was  a  plump-looking  man,  somewhat  under  the  middle  size, 
with  well-spread  shoulders,  a  large  chest,  a  fair,  fresh  complexion,  a 
clear  but  dreamy  eye,  and  a  short,  quick  stride,  and  had  altogether  the 
signs  of  that  fullness  of  habit  which  arises  from  regular  exercise  and  a 
good  appetite,  while  a  certain  ascetic  expression  of  countenance,  at  once 
forbade  the  idea  that  it  owed  anything  to  festivity  or  good  cheer.     His 


213 

age,  which  never  appeared  to  vary,  might,  from  his  looks,  be  estimated 
at  five  years  on  the  one  side  or  other  of  fifty.  His  dress  was  that  of  an 
old-fashioned  respectable  citizen,  educated  before  the  age  of  suspenders, 
pantaloons,  and  boots,  and  who  had  never  been  persuaded  to  countenance 
those  innovations  of  modern  efi'eminacy.  Notwithstanding  its"  obsolete 
cut,  it  showed  no  signs  of  poverty,  except  perhaps  to  those,  and  those  only, 
who  occasionally  met  him  sweltering,  with  a  laudable  contempt  for  the 
weather,  in  a  full  suit  of  thick  Prussian  blue  or  Dutch  black  broadcloth 
in  a  hot  August  day;  or  striding  through  a  snow-storm  in  nankeen 
breeches  and  white  cotton  stockings  in  December.  His  name  was  Jan 
Max-Lichenstein  ;  he  was  a  Pomeranian  by  birth,  who  early  in  life,  going 
to  Amsterdam  to  seek  his  fortune,  became  employed  as  a  clerk  in  the 
great  Dutch  banking  and  commercial  house  of  Hope  &  Co.,  where  he 
proved  himself  a  good  accountant,  and  rendered  himself  useful  in  their 
German  and  Swedish  correspondence. 

Afterward,  by  some  accident  or  other,  he  found  himself  an  adven- 
turer at  St.  Petersburg.  What  led  him  to  that  city,  I  cannot  say ;  I  have 
never  heard  it  accounted  for  among  his  acquaintances  in  this  city ;  at 
Amsterdam  I  forgot  to  inquire,  and  St.  Petersburg  I  have  never  visited. 
But  thither  he  went ;  and  having  the  good  fortune  to  become  known  to 
Prince  Potemkin,  received  an  employment  in  his  household,  and  finally 
came  to  be  intrusted  with  the  management  of  his  finances.  The  Prince 
as  everybody  knows,  like  many  others  who  have  millions  to  dispose  of, 
had  constantly  occasion  for  millions  more ;  and,  as  everybody  also  ought 
to  know  who  knows  anything  of  his  private  history,  when  his  funds  were 
so  reduced  that  he  had  nothing  left  but  a  few  millions  of  acres  and  a  few 
thousand  serfs,  took  most  furiously  to  gambling  and  alchemy.  These 
liberal  employments  were  divided  between  him  and  his  treasurer ;  the 
Prince  rattled  the  dice-box  in  the  gilded  saloons  of  Tzarzko  Zelo,  and  the 
Pomeranian,  in  spite  of  his  remonstrances  and  his  own  better  judgment 
was  set  to  compounding  the  alkahest,  or  universal  menstruum,  in  the 
vaults  under  the  north  wing  of  Potemkin's  winter  palace.  We  soon  get 
attached  to  the  studies  in  which  we  are  obliged  to  employ  ourselves,  and 
Lichenstein  gradually  found  his  incredulity  yielding,  and  a  strange  interest 
stealing  over  him,  as  he  read  the  books  and  sweltered  and  watched  over 
the  operations  of  alchemy.  The  result  was,  that  at  length  he  became  a 
believer  in  the  mysteries  of  imbibition,  solution,  ablution,  sublimation, 
cohabation,  calcination,  ceration,  and  fixation,  and  all  the  martyrizations 
of  metals,  with  the  sublime  influences  of  the  Trine  Circle  of  the  Seven 
Spheres. 

Lichenstein,  however,  with  all  his  diligence  and  increase  of  faith, 
oould  neither  coin  gold  nor  get  it  out  of  the  Prince's  tenants  in  such 
quantities  as  it  was  wanted,  and  he  was  now  destined  to  learn  how  much 
the  favor  of  the  great  depends  upon  the  state  of  their  stomachs.     One 


214 

morning  Potemkin,  after  a  run  of  bad  luck,  plenty  of  good  champagne,  a 
sleepless  night,  and  an  indigestible  breakfast  of  raw  turnips  and  quass, 
called  upon  him  for  an  extraordinary  sum,  and  not  finding  it  easily  fur- 
nished, flew  into  a  passion  and  discharged  him  on  the  spot.  As  the 
Prince  never  paid  any  debts  but  those  of  honor,  Lichenstein  knew  that  it 
would  be  in  vain  to  ask  for  his  salary,  and  walked  into  the  streets  without 
a  penny  in  his  pocket.  The  late  Chief-Justice  Dana,  of  Massachusetts, 
then  our  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  Petersburg,  was  about  to  return  to 
America.  Lichenstein  had  heard  the  most  flattering  accounts  of  the 
prospects  held  out  in  the  United  States  to  active  and  intelhgent  adven- 
turers from  the  Old  World,  and  readily  believed  all  he  heard,  which,  for 
a  believer  in  alchemy,  was  no  great  stretch  of  credulity.  He  had  some 
little  acquaintance  with  the  American  Minister,  in  consequence  of  once  or 
twice  negotiating  for  him  small  bills  on  the  bankers  of  the  United  States 
at  Amsterdam.  He  threw  himself  upon  his  generosity,  and  requested  a 
passage  to  this  country — a  favor  which  was  as  readily  granted.  Here  he 
was  fortunate  enough,  almost  immediately  on  his  arrival,  to  be  employed 
in  the  first  mercantile  house  in  New  York,  to  answer  their  Dutch,  German, 
and  northern  correspondence,  with  a  salary  which,  though  not  half  sa 
large  as  that  allowed  by  Prince  Potemkin,  he  liked  twice  as  well,  because 
it  was  regularly  paid.  He  had  scarcely  become  well  settled  in  New  York, 
when  his  old  dream  of  alchemy  returned  upon  him.  He  carefully  hoarded 
his  earnings  until  he  was  enabled  to  purchase,  at  a  cheap  rate,  a  small 
tenement  in  Wall  street,  where  he  erected  a  furnace  with  a  triple  chimney, 
and  renewed  his  search  of  the  arcanum  magnum.  Every  day,  in  the  morn- 
ing, he  was  occupied  for  two  hours  in  the  counting-room ;  then  he  was 
seen  walking  in  Broadway ;  then  he  shut  himself  in  his  laboratory  until 
the  dusk  of  the  evening,  when  he  issued  forth  to  resume  his  solitary  walk. 

Year  after  year  passed  in  this  manner.  Wall  street,  in  the  mean- 
time, was  changing  its  inhabitants :  its  burghers  gave  way  to  banks  and 
brokers ;  the  city  extended  its  limits,  and  the  streets  became  thronged 
with  increasing  multitudes — circumstances  of  which  the  alchemist  took  no 
note,  except  that  he  could  not  help  observing  that  he  was  obliged  to  take 
a  longer  walk  than  formerly  to  get  into  the  country,  and  that  the  rows 
of  lamps  on  each  side  of  Broadway  seemed  to  have  lengthened  wonder- 
fully toward  the  north  ;  but  whether  this  was  owing  to  the  advance  of 
old  age,  which  made  his  walk  more  fatiguing,  or  to  some  other  unknown 
cause,  was  a  problem  which  I  believe  he  never  fully  solved  to  his  own 
satisfaction. 

Still  the  secret  of  making  gold  seemed  as  distant  as  ever,  until  it 
presented  itself  to  him  in  an  unexpected  shape.  His  lot  in  Wall  street, 
which  measured  twenty-eight  feet  in  front  and  eighty-seven  in  depth,  and 
for  which  he  had  paid  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  New  York  cur- 
rency, had  become  a  desirable  site  for  a  newly  chartered  banking  com- 


215 

pany.  One  day  Lichenstein  was  called  by  the  president  of  this  company 
from  his  furnace,  as  he  was  pouring  rectified  water  on  the  salt  of  Mer- 
cury. He  felt  somewhat  crusty  at  the  interruption,  as  he  hoped  by 
reverberating  the  ingredients  in  an  athanor,  to  set  the  liquor  of  Mars  in 
circulation ;  but  when  this  person  had  opened  to  him  his  errand  and 
offered  him  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  for  the  purchase  of  his  lot,  his 
ill-humor  was  converted  into  surprise.  Had  he  been  offered  five  thousand, 
he  would  have  accepted  it  immediately ;  but  twenty-five  thousand !  the 
amount  startled  him.  He  took  time  to  consider  of  the  proposition,  and 
the  next  morning  was  offered  thirty  thousand  by  a  rival  company.  He 
must  think  of  this  also,  and  before  night  he  sold  to  the  first  company  for 
thirty-three  thousand.  He  was  now  possessed  of  a  competency ;  he 
quitted  his  old  vocation  of  clerk,  abandoned  his  old  walk  in  Broadway, 
and  like  Admiral  Landais  '  disappeared,'  but  not,  I  behove,  like  him  to 
another  Hfe.  I  have  heard  that  his  furnace  has  again  been  seen  smoking 
behind  a  comfortable  German  stone  house  in  the  comfortable  borough  of 
Easton — a  residence  which  he  chose,  not  merely  on  account  of  its  cheap 
ness  of  living  nor  its  picturesque  situation,  but  chiefly,  I  believe,  for  its 
neighborhood  to  Bethlehem,  where  dwelt  a  Moravian  friend  of  his, 
attached  to  the  same  mysterious  studies,  and  for  its  nearness  to  the  inex- 
haustible coal-mines  of  Lehigh. 

As  I  write,  my  recollections  of  the  past,  both  ludicrous  and  melan- 
choly, crowd  upon  me.  I  might  amuse  my  readers  with  a  history  of  the 
'  Doctors'  Mob,'  which  happened  some  forty  years  ago,  when  the  multi- 
tude, indignant  with  the  physicians  and  surgeons  for  having,  as  was  sup- 
posed, violated  the  repose  of  the  dead,  besieged  them  in  their  dweUings 
with  an  intention  to  inflict  justice  upon  them  according  to  their  own  sum- 
mary notions,  obhging  them  to  shp  out  at  windows,  creep  behind  beer- 
barrels,  crawl  up  chimneys,  and  get  beneath  feather-beds,  and  when  the 
grave  gentlemen  of  the  heahng  art  were  fed  in  dark  places  like  hunted 
rebels  or  persecuted  prophets,  for  three  days  and  three  nights.  I  might 
give  my  readers  a  peep  into  the  little  dark  room  in  Pine  street,  where 
Brown  used  to  frame  his  gloomy  and  interesting  fictions  without  any  aid 
from  the  picturesque,  and  entangle  his  heroes  in  one  difficulty  after 
another  without  knowing  how  he  should  extricate  them.  I  might  show 
residing  in  that  part  of  Pearl  street  now  enlarged  into  Hanover  Square^ 
but  then  a  dark  and  narrow  passage,  the  famous  Greneral  Moreau,  who, 
when  told  that  the  street  was  not  fashionable,  rephed  that  he  '  hved  in 
de  house  and  not  in  de  street' — a  conceited  grammarian,  talking  absurdly 
of  that  science,  and  magnifying  his  supposed  discovery  of  three  thousand 
new  adverbs,  but  otherwise  gentlemanly,  inteUigent,  and  aggreeable,  and 
fortunate  in  his  beautiful  and  accompHshed  wife.  While  I  spoke  of  great 
men,  I  might  touch  upon  the  tragic  and  untimely  end  of  one  of  our 
greatest — Hamilton,  brought  over  from  the  fatal   spot  where  he   fell  to 


216 

expire  in  the  hospitable  mansion  of  Mr.  Bayard,  on  the  green  shore  of  the 
Hudson.  I  well  recollect  the  day  of  his  death,  a  fine  day  in  July  ;  and 
the  bright  sunshine,  the  smiling  beauty  of  the  spot,  the  cheerful  sound 
of  birds  and  rustling  boughs  and  the  twinkling  waters  of  the  river,  con- 
trasted strangely  and  unnaturally  with  the  horror-struck  countenances 
and  death-like  silence  of  the  great  multitude  that  gathered  round  the 
dwelling.     I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  scene. 

In  this  city  especially,  it  is  of  more  importance  to  preserve  the  recol- 
lection of  these  things,  since  here  the  progress  of  continual  alteration  is 
so  rapid,  that  a  few  years  effect  what  in  Europe  is  the  work  of  centuries, 
and  sweep  away  both  the  memory  and  the  external  vestiges  of  the 
generation  that  precedes  us. 

I  was  forcibly  struck  with  this  last  reflection  when  not  long  since  I 
took  a  walk  with  my  friend,  Mr.  De  Viellecour,  during  his  last  visit  to 
New  York,  over  what  I  recollected  as  the  play-ground  of  myself  and  my 
companions  in  the  time  of  my  boyhood,  and  what  Mr.  De  Viellecour 
remembered  as  the  spot  where  his  contemporaries  at  an  early  period  used 
to  shoot  quails  and  woodcocks.  We  passed  over  a  part  of  the  city  which 
in  my  time  had  been  hiUs,  hollows,  marshes,  and  rivulets,  without  having 
observed  anything  to  awaken  in  either  of  us  a  recollection  of  what  the 
place  was  before  the  surface  had  been  leveled  and  the  houses  erected^ 
until,  arriving  at  the  corner  of  Charlton  and  Yarick  streets,  we  came  to 
an  edifice  utterly  dissimilar  to  anything  around  it.  It  was  a  wooden 
building  of  massive  architecture,  with  a  lofty  portico  supported  by  Ionic 
columns,  the  front  walls  decorated  with  pilasters  of  the  same  order,  and 
its  whole  appearance  distinguished  by  that  Palladian  character  of  rich 
though  sober  ornament,  which  indicated  that  it  had  been  built  about  the 
middle  of  the  last  century.  We  both  stopped  involuntarily  and  at  the 
same  moment  before  it. 

'  If  I  did  not  see  that  house  on  a  flat  plain,'  said  Mr.  De  Viellecour, 
'  penned  in  by  this  little  gravelly  court-yard,  and  surrounded  by  these 
starveling  catalpas  and  horse-chestnuts,  I  should  say  at  once  that  it  was  a 
mansion  which  I  very  well  remember,  where  in  my  youth  I  passed  many 
pleasant  hours  in  the  society  of  its  hospitable  owner,  and  where,  after- 
ward, when  I  had  the  honor  of  representing  my  country  in  the  Assembly, 
which  then  sat  in  New  York,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  dining  officially  with 
Vice-President  Adams.  That  house  resembled  this  exactly,  but  then  it 
^Jmslipon  a  noble  hill,  several  hundred  feet  in  height,  commanding  a 
view  of  the  river  and  of  the  Jersey  shore.  There  was  a  fine,  rich  lawn 
around  it,  shaded  by  large  and  venerable  oaks  and  lindens,  and  skirted 
oVe'very  side  by  a  young  but  thrifty  natural  wood  of  an  hundred  acres 
or  more.' 

Perceiving  it  to  be  a  house  of  public  entertainment,  I  proposed  to 
Mr.  Viellecour  that  we  should  enter  it.     We  went  into  a  spacious  hall, 


217 

with  a  small  room  on  each  side  opening  to  more  spacious  apartments 
beyond.  *  Yes,'  said  Mr.  Viellecour,  '  this  is  certainly  the  house  I  spoke 
of.'  He  immediately,  with  the  air  of  a  man  accustomed  to  the  building, 
opened  a  side-door  on  the  right,  and  began  to  ascend  a  wide  stair-case 
with  a  heavy  mahogany  railing.  It  conducted  us  to  a  large  room  on  the 
second  story,  with  wide  Venetian  windows  in  front,  and  a  door  opening 
to  a  balcony  under  the  portico.  '  Yes,'  said  my  friend,  '  here  was  the 
dining-room.  There,  in  the  center  of  the  table,  sat  Vice-President  Adams 
in  full  dress,  with  his  bag  and  solitaire,  his  hair  frizzed  out  each  side  of 
his  face,  as  you  see  it  in  Stuart's  older  pictures  of  him.  On  his  right  sat 
Baron  Steuben,  our  royalist  republican  disciplinarian  general.  On  his 
left  was  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  had  just  returned  from  France,  conspicuous 
in  his  red  waistcoat  and  breeches,  the  fashion  of  Versailles.  Opposite 
sat  Mrs.  Adams,  with  her  cheerful,  intelligent  face.  She  was  placed 
between  the  courtly  Count  Du  Moustiers,  the  French  Ambassador,  in  his 
red-heeled  shoes  and  ear-rings,  and  the  grave,  polite,  and  formally  bowing 
Mr.  Van  Birkel,  the  learned  and  able  Envoy  of  Holland.  There,  too,  was 
Chancellor  Livingston,  then  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  so  deaf  as  to  make 
conversation  with  him  difficult,  yet  so  overflowing  with  wit,  eloquence,  and 
information,  that  while  listening  to  him,  the  difficulty  was  forgotten.  The 
rest  were  members  of  Congress  and  of  our  Legislature,  some  of  them  no 
inconsiderable  men. 

'  Being  able  to  talk  French — a  rare  accomplishment  in  America  at  that 
time — a  place  was  assigned  to  me  next  the  Count.  The  dinner  was 
served  up  after  the  fashion  of  that  day,  abundant,  and  as  was  then 
thought,  splendid.  Du  Moustiers,  after  taking  a  little  soup,  kept  an 
empty  plate  before  him,  took  now  and  then  a  crumb  of  bread  into  his 
mouth,  and  declined  all  the  luxuries  of  the  table  that  were  pressed  upon 
him,  from  the  roast-beef  down  to  the  lobsters.  We  were  all  in  perplexity 
to  know  how  the  Count  could  dine,  when  at  length  his  own  body-cook, 
in  a  clean,  white  linen  cap,  a  clean,  white  tablier  before  him,  a  brilliantly 
white  damask  serviette  flung  over  his  arm,  and  a  warm  pie  of  truffles  and 
game  in  his  hand,  came  brustling  eagerly  through  the  crowd  of  waiters, 
and  placed  it  before  the  Count,  who,  reserving  a  moderate  share  to  him- 
self, distributed  the  rest  among  his  neighbors,  of  whom  being  one,  I  can 
attest  to  the  truth  of  the  story,  and  the  excellence  of  the  pate.  But  come, 
let  us  go  and  look  at  the  fine  view  from  the  balcony.' 

My  friend  stepped  out  at  the  door  and  I  followed  him.  The  worthy 
old  gentleman  seemed  much  disappointed  at  finding  the  view  he  spoke  of 
confined  to  the  opposite  side  of  Varick  street,  built  up  with  two-story 
brick  houses,  while  a  half-a-dozen  ragged  boys  were  playing  marbles  on 
the  sidewalks.  '  Well,'  said  he,  '  the  view  is  gone,  that  is  clear  enough  ; 
but  I  cannot,  for  my  part,  understand  how  the  house  has  got  so  much 
lower  than  formerly.' 


218 

I  explained  to  my  friend  the  omnipotence  of  the  Corporation,  hy 
which  every  high  hill  has  been  brought  low,  and  every  valley  exalted, 
and  by  which  I  presumed  this  house  had  been  abased  to  a  level  with  its 
humbler  neighbors,  the  hill  on  which  it  stood  having  been  literally  dug 
away  from  under  it,  and  the  house  gently  let  down  without  disturbing  its 
furniture,  by  the  mechanical  genius  and  dexterity  of  some  of  our  eastern 
brethren. 

'  This  is  wrong  !'  said  the  old  gentleman ;  '  these  New  Yorkers  seem 
to  take  a  pleasure  in  defacing  the  monuments  of  the  good  old  times,  and 
of  depriving  themselves  of  all  venerable  and  patriotic  associations.  This 
house  should  have  been  continued  in  its  old  situation,  on  its  own  original 
and  proper  eminence,  where  its  very  aspect  would  have  suggested  its 
history.  It  was  built  upward  of  seventy  years  ago,  by  a  gallant  British 
officer,  who  had  done  good  service  to  his  native  country  and  to  this. 
Here  Lord  Amherst  was  entertained  and  held  his  headquarters,  at  the 
close  of  those  successful  American  campaigns  which,  by  the  way,  pre- 
vented half  the  State  of  New  York  from  now  being  a  part  of  Canada. 
Here  were  afterward  successively  the  quarters  of  several  of  our  American 
Generals  in  the  beginning  of  the  Eevolution,  and  again  after  the  evacuation 
of  the  city.  Here  John  Adams  lived  as  Vice-President  during  the  time 
that  Congress  sat  in  New  York ;  and  here  Aaron  Burr,  during  the  whole 
of  his  Vice-Presidency,  kept  up  an  elegant  hospitality,  and  filled  the  room 
in  which  we  stand  with  a  splendid  library,  equally  indicative  of  his  taste 
and  scholarship.  The  last  considerable  man  that  lived  here  was  Counsellor 
Benzon,  afterward  Governor  of  the  Danish  islands — a  man  who,  hke  you, 
Mr.  Herbert,  had  traveled  in  every  part  of  the  world,  knew  everything, 
and  talked  all  languages.  I  recollect  dining  here  in  company  with 
thirteen  gentlemen,  none  of  whom  I  ever  saw  before,  but  all  pleasant 
fellows,  all  men  of  education  and  some  note — the  Counsellor,  a  Norwegian, 
I,  the  only  American,  the  rest  of  every  different  nation  in  Europe,  and 
no  two  of  the  same,  and  all  of  us  talking  bad  French  together. 

'  There  are  few  old  houses,'  continued  Mr.  De  Viellecour,  'with  the 
sight  of  which  my  youth  was  familiar,  that  I  find  here  now.  Two  or 
three,  however,  I  still  recognize.  One  of  these  is  the  house  built  by  my 
friend,  Chief-Justice  Jay,  in  the  lower  part  of  Broadway,  and  now 
occupied  as  a  boarding-house.  It  is,  as  you  know,  a  large  square  three- 
story  house,  of  hewn  stone,  as  substantially  built  within  as  without, 
durable,  spacious,  and  commodious,  and,  like  the  principles  of  the  builder, 
always  useful  and  excellent,  whether  in  or  out  of  fashion.' 

'  I  believe  he  did  not  reside  there  long  ?'  said  I. 

'  No,  he  soon  afterward  removed  into  the  house  built  by  the  State  for 
the  Governors,  and  then  to  Albany,  so  that  I  saw  little  of  him  in  that 
house  beyond  a  mere  morning  visit  or  two.  No  remaining  object  brings 
him  to  my  mind  so  strongly  as  the  square  pew  in  Trinity  Church,  about 


219 

the  center  of  the  north  side  of  the  north  aisle.  It  is  now,  like  everything- 
else  in  New  York,  changed.  It  is  divided  into  several  smaller  pews, 
though  still  retaining,  externally,  its  original  form.  That  pew  was  the 
scene  of  his  regular,  sober,  unostentatious  devotion,  and  I  never  look  at 
it  without  a  feeling  of  veneration.  But,  Mr.  Herbert,  can  you  tell  me 
what  is  become  of  the  house  of  my  other  old  friend,  Governor  George 
Clinton,  at  Greenwich  ?' 

'  It  is  still  in  existence,'  I  answered,  '  although  in  very  great  danger 
of  shortly  being  let  down,  like  the  one  in  which  we  now  are.' 

'  When  I  was  in  the  Assembly,'  pursued  Mr.  De  Yiellecour,  '  the 
Governor  used  to  date  his  messages  at  Greenwich,  near  New  York. 
Now,  I  suppose,  the  mansion  is  no  longer  near^  but  in  New  York.' 

'  Not  quite,'  I  replied,  '  but  doubtless  will  be,  next  year.  In  the 
meantime,  the  house  looks  as  it  did.' 

*  I  remember  it  well — a  long,  low,  venerable,  irregular,  white,  cottage  - 
Hke  brick-and-wood  building,  pleasant,  notwithstanding,  with  a  number 
of  small  low  rooms,  and  one  very  spacious  parlor,  delightfully  situated  on 
a  steep  bank,  some  fifty  feet  above  the  shore,  on  which  the  waves  of  the 
Hudson  and  the  tides  of  the  bay  dashed  and  sported.  There  was  a  fine 
orchard,  too,  and  a  garden  on  the  north ;  but  I  suppose  that  if  not  gone, 
they  are  going,  as  they  say  in  Pearl  street.' 

'  It  is  even  so — were  you  often  there  ?' 

'  Not  often,  but  I  had  there,  too,  divers  official  dinners,  and  at  one 
of  them  I  recollect  sitting  next  to  old  Melancthon  Smith,  a  self-taught 
orator,  the  eloquent  opposer  of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution, 
and  the  Patrick  Henry  of  the  New  York  Convention  of  1788,  who  for 
weeks  successfully  resisted  the  powerful  and  discursive  logic  of  Hamilton, 
and  the  splendid  rhetoric  of  Robert  P.  Livingston.  On  my  other  side 
and  nearer  the  Governor,  sat  Brissot  de  WarviUe,  then  on  a  visit  to  this 
country,  whose  history  as  a  benevolent  philosophic  speculatist,  an  ardent 
though  visionary  republican,  and  one  of  the  unfortunate  leaders  of  the 
Gironde  party  in  the  French  National  Assembly,  everybody  knows.' 

'  But  you  say  nothing  of  the  Governor  himself  ?' 

'  Oh,  surely  you  must  have  known  him  !  If  you  did  not,  Trumbull's 
full-length  of  him  in  the  City  Hall  here,  taken  forty  years  ago,  and 
Ceracchi's  bust,  of  about  the  same  date,  will  give  you  an  excellent  idea 
of  his  appearance.' 

'  Oh,  yes — his  appearance  was  familiar  to  me,  and  I  knew  him  per. 
sonally,  too ;  but  when  I  was  in  his  company  I  was  too  young  to  have 
much  conversation  with  him,  and  afterward,  when  he  was  last  Governor, 
and  during  his  Yice-Presidency,  I  was,  you  know,  out  of  the  country.' 

'  His  conversation  and  manners  in  private  corresponded  exactly  with 
his  public  character  and  his  looks.  His  person  and  face  had  a  general 
resemblance  to  those  of  Washington ;  but  though  always  dignified,  and 


220 

in  old  age  venerable,  he  had  not  that  air  of  heroic  elevation  which  threw 
such  majesty  around  the  Father  of  the  Bepublic.  There  was  a  similar 
resemblance  in  mind.  If  he  had  the  calm  grandeur  of  Washington's 
intellect,  he  had  the  same  plain,  practical,  sound,  wholesome  common- 
sense — the  same  unpretending  but  unerring  sagacity  as  to  men  and 
measures,  the  same  directness  of  purpose  and  firmness  of  decision. 
These  qualities  were  exerted,  as  Governor  during  our  Revolution,  with 
such  effect  that  the  people  never  forgot  it,  and  they  witnessed  their 
gratitude  by  confiding  to  him  the  government  of  this  State  for  twenty-one 
years,  and  the  second  office  in  the  Union  for  eight  more.  His  behavior 
in  society  was  plain  but  dignified,  his  conversation  easy,  shrewd,  sensible, 
and  commonly  about  matters  of  fact — the  events  of  the  Revolution,  the 
politics  of  the  day,  the  useful  arts,  and  agriculture. 

'  Is  Hamilton's  house  still  standing  ?' 

'  Not  that  in  which  he  labored  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  restore 
the  ruined  credit  of  the  nation,  and  reduce  our  finances  and  revenue  laws 
to  order  and  uniformity — where  he  wrote  the  I^ederalist,  and  those  admi- 
rable reports  which  now  form  the  most  luminous  commentary  upon  our 
Constitution.  That  was  in  Wall  street ;  it  has  been  pulled  down,  and  its 
site  is  occupied  by  the  Mechanics'  Bank.  His  last  favorite  residence  was 
the  Grange,  his  country-seat  at  Bloomingdale,  which,  when  I  last  saw  it, 
remained  much  as  he  left  it.' 

Mr.  Yiellecour  and  myself  ordered  some  refreshment,  as  a  kind  of 
apology  for  the  freedoms  we  had  taken  with  the  old  mansion.  On  leaving 
it,  we  walked  down  Greenwich  street,  moralizing,  as  we  went,  on  the 
changes  which  time  was  working,  so  much  more  visibly  in  this  little 
corner  of  the  world  than  in  any  other  part  of  it  which  I  had  seen — where 
the  flight  of  years  seemed  swifter  than  elsewhere,  and  to  bring  with  it 
more  striking  moral  lessons.  After  an  absence  of  thirty  years  from  the 
great  cities  of  Europe,  I  beheld,  when  I  revisited  them,  the  same  aspect — 
venerable  still,  yet  neither  newer  nor  older  than  before — the  same  order 
of  streets,  the  same  public  buildings,  the  same  offices,  hotels,  and  shops, 
the  same  names  on  the  signs,  and  found  my  way  through  their  intricacies 
as  if  I  had  left  them  but  yesterday.  Here,  on  the  other  hand,  when  I 
returned  after  an  absence  of  two  years,  everything  was  strange,  new,  and 
perplexing,  and  I  lost  my  way  m  streets  which  had  been  laid  out  since  I 
left  the  city.' 

My  companion  often  stopped  to  look  at  houses  and  sites  of  which  he 
had  some  remembrance.  '  There,'  said  he,  pointing  to  a  modest-looking 
two-story  dwelling  in  one  of  the  cross-streets — '  there  died  my  good 
friend,  Mons.  Albert,  a  minister  of  our  French  Protestant  Church  about 
twenty  years  ago,  a  very  learned  and  eloquent  divine,  and  the  most 
modest  man  I  ever  knew.  He  was  a  native  of  Lausanne,  a  nephew  of 
D'Yverdun,  the  friend  of  Gibbon,  who  figures  in  the  correspondence  and 


221 

memoirs  of  the  historian.  Mons.  Albert  was  much  in  the  society  of 
Gibbon  and  has  related  to  me  many  anecdotes  of  his  literary  habits  and 
conversation.' 

'  I  must  not  suffer  you  to  monopolize  all  the  recollections  of  the 
city,'  said  I  to  my  friend.  '  Observe,  if  you  please,  that  house  on  the 
corner  opposite  the  one  to  which  you  have  directed  my  attention.  There 
lived,  for  a  time,  my  old  acquaintance  Collies,  a  mathematician,  a  geog- 
rapher, and  a  mechanician  of  no  mean  note.  He  was  a  kind  of  living 
antithesis,  and  I  have  often  thought  that  nature  made  him  expressly  to 
illustrate  that  figure  of  rhetoric.  He  was  a  man  of  the  most  diminutive 
frame  and  the  most  gigantic  conceptions,  the  humblest  demeanor  and 
the  boldest  projects  I  ever  knew.  Forty  years  ago,  his  mind  was  teem- 
ing with  plans  of  western  canals,  steam-boats,  rail-roads,  and  other  public 
enterprises,  which  in  more  fortunate  and  judicious  hands  have  since 
proved  fruitful  of  wealth  to  the  community,  and  of  merited  honor  to 
those  who  carried  them  through.  Poor  Collies  had  neither  capital  to 
undertake  them  himself,  plausibility  to  recommend  them  to  others,  nor 
public  character  and  station  to  give  weight  and  authority  to  his  opinions.. 
So  he  schemed  and  toiled  and  calculated  all  his  life,  and  died  at  eighty, 
without  having  gained  either  wealth  for  himself,  or  gratitude  from  the 
public.  The  marine  telegraphs  in  this  port  are  a  monument  of  his 
Ingenuity,  for  he  was  the  first  man  of  the  country  who  established  a  reg- 
ular and  intelligible  system  of  ship  signals.' 

My  friend  stopped  at  some  of  the  shops  to  make  inquiries  concern- 
ing the  ancient  inmates.  At  length  I  heard  him  asking  for  Adonis. 
'  Pray,'  said  I,  '  who  is  this  modern  Adonis  for  whom  you  are  inquiring  ? 
Some  smooth,  rose-cheeked  boy,  doubtless,  like  him  of  Mount  Libanus.' 

'  This  Adonis,'  replied  Mr.  Viellecour,  '  is  neither  a  smooth  nor 
rose-cheeked  boy,  being  in  fact  a  black  old  man,  or  rather  gentleman, 
for  a  gentleman  he  is  every  inch  of  him,  although  a  barber.  I  say  is, 
for  I  hope  he  is  still  alive  and  well,  although  I  have  not  seen  him  for 
some  years.  In  this  sneaking,  fashion-conforming,  selfish  world,  I  hold 
in  high  honor  any  man  who  for  the  sake  of  any  principle,  important  or 
trifling,  right  or  wrong,  so  it  be  without  personal  interest,  will  for  years 
submit  to  inconvenience  or  ridicule.  Adonis  submitted  to  both,  and  for 
principle's  sake.' 

'  Principle's  sake  !     Upon  what  head  ?' 

'Upon  his  own,  sir,  or  upon  Louis  the  Sixteenth's,  just  as  you 
please.  Adonis  was  an  old  French  negro,  whom  the  convulsions  attend- 
ant in  the  West  Indies  upon  the  French  revolution,  threw  upon  our 
shores,  and  who  held  in  the  utmost  horror  all  Jacobinical  and  republican 
abominations.  He  had  an  instinctive  sagacity  as  to  what  was  genteel  and 
becoming  in  manners  and  behavior,  as  well  as  in  the  cut  of  a  gentleman's 
hair,  or  the  curl  of  a  lady's.     He  had  attended   to   the  progress   of  the 


222 

Prench  revolution  with  the  greatest  interest,  and  his  feehngs  were  excited 
to  the  highest  pitch  when  he  heard  of  the  beheading  of  the  French  king 
and  the  banishment  of  the  royal  family.  He  then  deliberately  renounced 
the  French  nation  and  their  canaille  parvenu  rulers,  and  in  testimony  of  the 
sincerity  of  his  indignation  and  grief,  took  otf  his  hat  and  vowed  never 
to  put  it  on  again  until  the  Bourbons  should  be  restored  to  the  throne. 
This  vow  he  faithfully  kept.  For  twenty-one  years,  through  all  weather, 
did  he  walk  the  streets  of  New  York  bare-headed,  carrying  his  hat  under 
his  arm  with  the  air  of  a  courtier,  filled  with  combs,  scissors,  and  other 
implements  of  his  trade,  until  his  hair,  which  was  of  the  deepest  black 
when  he  first  took  it  off,  had  become  as  white  as  snow.  For  my  part,  I 
<}onfess  I  never  saw  him  on  my  occasional  visits  to  the  city,  walking  to 
the  houses  of  his  customers  without  his  hat,  but  I  felt  inclined  to  take  off 
my  own  to  him.  Like  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  I  took  it  for  granted 
that  the  loyal  old  negro  would  never  wear  his  hat  again.     At  length,  in 

the  year  1814,  the  French  armed  schooner ,  with  the  white  flag 

flying,  arrived  in  the  port  of  New  York,  bringing  the  first  intelligence 
of  the  return  of  the  Bourbons  to  their  throne  and  kingdom,  Adonis 
would  not  believe  the  report  that  flew  like  wild-fire  about  the  city.  He 
would  not  trust  the  translations  from  the  French  gazettes  that  were  read 
to  him  in  the  American  papers  by  his  customers,  but  walked  down  to  the 
battery  with  the  same  old  hat  under  his  arm  which  he  had  carried  there 
for  twenty  years,  saw  the  white  flag  with  his  own  eyes,  heard  the  news 
in  French  from  the  mouth  of  the  cook  on  board  the  vessel,  and  then 
waving  his  hat  three  times  in  the  air,  gave  three  huzzas,  and  replaced  it 
on  his  head  with  as  much  heart-felt  pride  as  Louis  the  Eighteenth  could 
have  done  his  crown.' 

I  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  earnest  gravity  of  the  old  gentleman's 
eulogy  upon  Adonis.  '  I  fear,'  said  I,  '  that  your  chivalric  coffewr  owes 
a  Httle  of  his  sentimental  loyalty  to  your  own  admiration  of  everything 
generous  and  disinterested.  When  you  are  excited  on  this  head,  sir,  you 
often  remind  me  of  what  old  FuseH,  in  his  energetic  style,  used  to  say 
of  his  great  idol,  Michael  Angelo — '  All  that  he  touched  was  indiscrimi- 
nately stamped  with  his  own  grandeur.  A  beggar  rose  from  his  hands 
the  Patriarch  of  poverty  ;  the  very  hump  of  his  dwarf  is  impressed  with 
dignity.'  I  suspect  you  have  been  unconsciously  playing  the  Michael 
Angelo  in  lighting  up  such  a  halo  of  consecrated  glory  round  the  bare 
and  time-honored  head  of  old  Adonis.  I  am  afraid  I  cannot  do  quite 
as  much  for  another  tonsorial  artist  of  great  celebrity  who  flourished 
here  in  our  days,  but  whom,  as  at  that  time  you  wiere  not  much  in  tlie 
habit  of  coming  to  town,  perhaps  you  do  not  remember.  He  made  no 
claim  to  chivalry  or  romance — his  sole  ambition  was  to  be  witty  and 
poetical ;  and  witty  he  certainly  was,  as  well  as  the  vehicle  and  conduit 
of  innumerable  good  pleasantries  of  other  people.  I  mean  John  Des- 
borus  Huggins.' 


223 

'  Huggins— Huggins,'  said  Mr.  De  Yiellecour.  I  knew  a  young 
lady  of  that  name  once  ;  she  is  now  Mrs.  ,  the  fashionable  mil- 
liner." 

'  Oh,  yes ;  that  incident  of  your  life  cannot  easily  lose  its  place  in 
my  memory.  But  John  Desborus  Huggins  was  no  relation  of  hers.  He 
was  of  pure  Enghsh  blood,  and  had  no  kindred  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  At  the  be  /inning  of  this  century,  and  for  a  dozen  years  after, 
he  was  the  most  fashionable,  as  well  as  the  most  accomplished  artist  in 
this  city  for  heads,  male  and  female.  He  had  a  shop  in  Broadway,  a 
low  wooden  building,  where  now  towers  a  tall  brick  pile,  opposite  the 
City  Hotel.  This  was  hterally  the  headquarters  of  fashion  ;  and  fortune, 
as  usual,  followed  in  the  train  of  fashion.  But  Huggins  had  a  soul  that 
scorned  to  confine  its  genius  to  the  external  decoration  of  his  customers' 
heads.  He  panted  after  wider  fame  ;  he  had  cut  Washington  Irving' s 
hair;  he  had  shaved  Anacreon  Moore,  and  Joel  Barlow  on  his  first 
return  from  France  ;  from  them,  when  he  was  here,  he  caught  the  strong 
contagion  of  authorship.  One  day  he  wrote  a  long  advertisement,  in 
which  he  ranged  from  his  own  shop  in  Broadway  to  high  and  bold  satire 
upon  those  who  held  the  helm  of  state  at  Washington,  mimicked  Jeffer- 
son's style,  and  cracked  some  good-humored  jokes  upon  Giles  and  Ran- 
dolph. He  carried  it  to  the  Evening  Post.  The  editor,  the  late  Mr.  Cole- 
man, you  know,  was  a  man  of  taste  as  well  as  a  keen  pohtician.  He 
pruned  ofi"  Huggins'  exuberances,  corrected  his  English,  threw  in  a  few 
pungent  sarcasms  of  his  own,  and  printed  it.' 

'  It  had  forthwith  a  run  through  all  the  papers  on  the  federal  side  of 
the  question  in  the  United  States,  and  as  many  of  the  others  as  could 
relish  a  good  joke,  though  at  the  expense  of  their  own  party.  The  name 
of  Huggins  became  known  from  Georgia  to  Maine.  Huggins  tried  a 
second  advertisement  of  the  same  sort,  a  third,  a  fourth,  with  equal  suc- 
cess. His  fame  as  a  wit  was  now  established,  business  flowed  in  upon 
him  in  full  and  unebbing  tide.  Wits  and  would-be  wits,  fashionables  and 
would-be  fashionables,  thronged  his  shop,  strangers  from  north  and  from 
south  had  their  heads  cropped  and  their  chins  scraped  by  him  for  the 
sake  of  saying  on  their  return  home  that  they  had  seen  Huggins,  whilst 
during  the  party-giving  season,  he  was  under  orders  from  the  ladies  everj^ 
day  and  hour  for  three  weeks  ahead.  But  alas,  unhappy  man  !  he  had 
now  a  literary  reputation  to  support,  and  his  invention,  lively  and  spark- 
ling as  it  had  been  at  first,  soon  began  to  run  dry.  He  was  now  obliged 
to  tax  his  friends  and  patrons  for  literary  assistance.  Mr.  Coleman  was 
too  deeply  engaged  in  the  daily  discussion  of  grave  topics  to  continue  his 
help.  In  the  kindness  of  my  excellent  friend,  the  late  Anthony  Bleecker, 
he  found  for  a  long  time  a  never-failing  resource.  You  were  not  much 
acquainted  wdth  Bleecker,  I  think,  the  most  honorable,  the  most  amiable, 
and  the  most  modest  of  human  beings.     Fraught  with  talent,  taste,  and 


224 

literature,  a  wit  and  a  poet,  he  rarely  appeared  in  public  as  an  author 
himself,  while  his  careless  generosity  furnished  the  best  part  of  their 
capital  to  dozens  of  literary  adventurers,  sometimes  giving  them  style  for 
their  thoughts,  and  sometimes  thoughts  for  their  style.  Bleecker  was 
too  kindly  tempered  for  a  partisan  poHtician,  and  his  contributions  to 
Huggins  were  either  good,-natured  pleasantries  upon  the  fashions  or 
frivolities  of  the  day,  or  else  classical  imitations  and  spirited  parodies  in 
flowing  and  polished  versification.  Numerous  other  wits  and  witlings, 
when  Bleecker  grew  tired  of  it,  some  of  whom  had  neither  his  taste  nor 
his  nice  sense  of  gentlemanly  decorum,  began  to  contribute,  until  at 
length  Huggins  found  himself  metamorphosed  into  the  regular  Pasquin 
of  New  York,  on  whom  as  on  a  mutilated  old  statue  of  that  name  at 
Rome,  every  wag  stuck  his  anonymous  epigram,  joke,  satire,  or  lampoon, 
whatever  was  unseeemly  in  his  eyes  or  unsavory  in  his  nostrils  in  this 
good  city.  I  believe  he  was  useful,  however.  If  his  humanities  had  not 
been  too  much  neglected  in  his  youth  to  allow  him  to  quote  Latin,  he 
might  have  asked  with  Horace — Ridentem  dicere  verwn — " 

'  My  dear  sir,'  interrupted  the  old  gentleman,  '  if  you  will  quote^ 
and  I  see  you  are  getting  into  one  of  your  quoting  moods,  you  had  better 
quote  old  Kats,  my  maternal  grandmother's  favorite  book,  the  great  poet 
of  Holland  and  common  sense.  He  has  said  it  better  than  Horace : 
'  Haar  lagehend  coysheid  laert,  haar  spelend  vormt  ter  deuyd.'  You 
ought  always  to  quote  old  Kats,  whenever  you  can,  for  I  suspect  that  you 
and  I  and  Judge  Benson  are  the  only  natives  south  of  the  Highlands, 
who  can  read  him.     But  to  return  to  your  barber-author :' 

'  Huggins  became  as  fond  and  as  proud  of  these  contributions  as  if 
he  had  written  them  all  himself,  and  at  last  collected  them  and  printed 
them  ^together  in  one  goodly  volume,  entitled,  Huggmiana,  illustrated 
with  designs  by  Jarvis,  and  wood-cuts  by  Anderson.  He  was  now  an 
author  in  all  the  forms.  Luckless  author  !  His  vaulting  ambition  over- 
leaped itself.  He  sent  a  copy  of  his  book  to  the  Jidinhurgh  Review^  then 
in  the  zenith  of  its  glory,  and  the  receipt  was  never  acknowledged.  He 
sent  another  copy  to  Dennie,  whose  Port  Folio  then  guided  the  literary 
taste  of  this  land,  and  Dennie  noticed  it  only  in  a  brief  and  cold 
paragraph.  What  was  excellent  in  a  newspaper  jeii  d^esprit,  whilst 
events  and  allusions  were  fresh,  lost  of  course  much  of  its  relish  when 
served  up  cold,  years  after  in  a  clumsy  duodecimo.  Besides,  not  having 
been  able  to  prevail  on  himself  to  part  with  any  thing  which  had  once 
appeared  under  his  name,  much  very  inferior  matter  was  suffered  to 
overlay  those  sprightly  articles  which  had  first  given  him  eclat.  Then 
the  town  critics  assailed  him,  and  that  '  most  delicate  monster,'  the  public 
who  had  laughed  at  every  piece,  good,  bad,  and  indifferent,  singly  in 
succession,  now  that  the  whole  was  collected,  became  fastidious,  and  at 
the  instigation  of  the  critics  aforesaid,  pronounced  the  book  to  be  '  low.' 


225 

Frightful  sentence  !  Hugglns  never  held  up  his  head  after  it.  His 
razors  and  scissors  lost  their  edge,  his  napkins  and  aprons  their  lustrous 
whiteness,  and  his  conversation  its  soft  spirit  and  vivacity.  His  affairs 
all  went  wrong  thenceforward,  and  whatever  might  have  been  the 
immediate  cause  of  his  death,  which  took  place  a  year  or  two  after,  the 
real  and  efficient  reason  was  undoubtedly  mortified  literary  pride. 
'■  Around  his  tomb,'  as  old  Johnson  says  of  Archbishop  Laud — 

*  Around  hia  tomb,  let  arts  and  genius  weep, 
But  hear  his  death,  ye  blockheads,  hear  and  sleep.' 

We  had  now  got  far  down  into  the  old  part  of  the  city,  when,  turn- 
ing up  Vesey  street  from  Greenwich,  Mr.  De  Yiellecour  made  a  sudden 
pause.  '  Ah,'  said  he,  '  one  more  vestige  of  the  past.  There,'  pointing 
to  a  common  looking  old  house,  '  there,  in  1790,  was  the  atelier  of 
Ceracchi,  when  he  was  executing  his  fine  busts  of  our  great  American 
statesmen.' 

'  Indeed  !'  answered  I — '  I  have  often  thought  of  it  as  a  singular 
piece  of  natural  good  fortune,  that  at  a  time  when  our  native  erts  were 
at  so  low  an  ebb,  we  had  such  an  artist  thrown  upon  our  shores  to  per- 
petuate the  true  and  living  likenesses  of  our  revolutionary  chiefs  and 
sages.  Ceracchi's  busts  of  Washington,  Jay,  Alexander  Hamilton, 
George  Clinton,  and  others,  are  now  as  mere  portraits  above  all  price  to 
this  nation ;  and  they  have  besides  a  classic  grace  about  them,  which 
entitle  the  artist  to  no  contemptible  rank  as  a  statuary.' 

'  It  was  not  a  piece  of  mere  good  fortune,'  said  my  friend  ;  '  we 
have  to  thank  the  artist  himself  for  it.  Ceracchi  was  a  zealous  repub- 
lican, and  he  came  here  full  of  enthusiasm,  anxious  to  identify  his  own 
name  in  the  arts  somehow  or  other  with  our  infant  republic — and  he  has 
done  it.  He  had  a  grand  design  of  a  national  monument,  which  he  used 
to  show  to  his  visitors,  and  which  he  wished  Congress  to  employ  him  to 
execute  in  marble  or  bronze.  Of  course  they  did  not  do  so,  and,  as  it 
happened,  he  was  much  more  usefully  employed  for  the  nation  in  model- 
ing the  busts  of  our  great  men.' 

'  He  was  an  Italian — I  believe  a  Roman — and  had  lived  some  time 
in  England,  where  he  was  patronized  by  Reynolds.  Sir  Joshua  (no 
mean  proof  of  his  talent)  sat  to  him  for  a  bust,  and  a  fine  one  I  am  told 
it  is.  Ceracchi  came  to  America  enthusiastic  for  liberty,  and  he  found 
nothing  here  to  make  him  change  his  principles  or  feelings.  But  the 
nation  was  not  ripe  for  statuary :  a  dozen  busts  exhausted  the  patronage 
of  the  country,  and  Congress  was  too  busy  with  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence,  fixing  the  revenue  laws,  and  funding  the  debt,  to  think  of  his 
grand  allegorical  monument.  Ceracchi  could  not  live  upon  liberty  alone , 
much  as  he  loved  it,  and  when  the  French  revolution  took  a  very  decided 
character,  he  went  to  France,  and  plunged  into  politics.  Some  years 
15 


226 

after  he  returned  to  E,ome,  where  he  was  unfortunately  killed  in  an 
insurrection  or  popular  tumult,  growing  out  of  the  universal  revolu- 
tionary spirit  of  those  times.' 

'  May  his  remains  rest  in  peace,'  added  I.  '  Whatever  higher 
works  of  art  he  may  have  left  elsewhere — and  he  who  could  produce 
those  fine  classic,  historical  busts,  was  undoubtedly  capable  of  greater 
things — whatever  else  he  may  have  left  in  Europe,  here  h's  will  be  an 
enduring  name.  As  long  as  Americans  shall  hold  in  honored  remem- 
brance the  memory  of  their  first  and  best  patriots — as  long  as  our  sons 
shall  look  with  reverent  interest  on  their  sculptured  images,  the  name  of 
Ceracchi  will  be  cherished  here  : 

*  And  while  along  the  stream  of  time,  their  name 
Expanded  flies  and  g-athers  all  its  fame; 
Still  shall  his  little  bark  attendant  sail, 
Pursue  the  triumph  and  partake  the  gale.' 

We  had  now  finished  our  long  walk,  and  as  the  old  gentleman  was 
going  into  his  lodgings,  I  took  leave  of  him,  saying,  that  our  afternoon's 
walk  had  furnished  me  with  the  materials,  and  I  was  now  going  home  to 
record  our  conversation  as  a  chapter  of  '  Reminiscences  of  New  York.' " 

In  1835,  New  York  was  visited  by  the  most  terrible  conflagration  she 
had  ever  experienced — an  event  which  was  so  disastrous  to  the  mercan- 
tile as  well  as  to  the  private  interests  of  the  city  that  a  full  account  of  it 
in  this  connection  may  not  be  omitted.  Mr.  Disosway,  who  was  present 
on  the  occasion,  has  kindly  furnished  us  the  following  account  of  the 
conflagration  itself  and  the  losses  entailed  by  it: 

FIRE  OF  1835. 

"  The  fearful  night  of  December  16,  1835,  will  long  be  remembered  for  the 
most  terrible  conflagration  that  has  ever  visited  our  great  city.  I  then  resided  in 
that  pleasant  Quaker  neighborhood,  Vandewater  street,  and  hearing  an  alarm  of 
fire,  hastened  to  the  front  door.  I  immediately  discovered,  from  the  direction  of 
the  flame  and  smoke  that  the  fire  was  '  down  town,'  and  not  far  off.  Thousands 
of  others  besides  myself  dreaded  such  an  alarm  that  night,  as  it  was  the  coldest 
one  we  had  had  for  thirty-six  years,  A  gale  of  wind  was  also  blowing.  I  put  on 
an  old,  warm  overcoat  and  an  old  hat  for  active  service  '  on  my  own  hook.'  Years 
afterward  these  articles,  preserved  as  curiosities,  bore  marks  of  the  heat,  sparks, 
and  exposure  of  that  fearful  time.  Our  own  store,  Disosway  &  Brothers,  180  Pearl 
street,  near  Maiden  Lane,  although  fire-proof,  naturally  became  the  first  object  of 
my  attention.  This  was  providentially  located  several  blocks  above  the  fii'c,  and, 
accordingly,  having  lighted  the  gas  and  leaving  the  clerks  to  watch,  I  hastened  to 
the  building  that  was  on  fire. 

This  was  the  store  of  Comstock  &  Andrews,  well-known  fancy  dry-goods 
jobbers,  at  the  corner  of  Pearl  and  Merchant  streets,  a  narrow,  new  lane  a  little 
below  Wall  street.  "When  I  entered  the  building  on  the  lower  floor  the  fire  had 
commenced  in  the  counting-room,  having  caught,  as  it  was  believed,  from  the  stove- 
pipe.    Those  few  of  us  present  had  time  to  remove  a  considerable  quantity  of  light 


227 

fancy  silk  articles.  The  goods,  however^,  were  of  a  very  inflammable  nature,  and  a 
strong  current  of  air  sweeping  through  the  adjoining  lane,  we  were  soon  compelled 
to  leave  the  balance  of  this  large  and  valuable  stock  to  destruction.  Here,  and  in 
this  manner,  the  great  fire  of  1835  originated. 

In  a  short  time  this  tall  and  large  brick  store  was  enveloped  in  flames,  which 
burst  from  the  doors  and  windows  on  both  streets.  Over  half  an  hour  had  elapsed 
before  the  first  engine  had  arrived,  and  attempted  to  throw  a  stream  upon  the  oppo- 
site stores  of  Pearl  street,  against  which  the  gale  was  driving  the  rapidly  increasing 
heat  and  embers.  But  so  furious  were  both,  that  the  boldest  firemen  retreated  for  their 
lives  and  the  safety  of  their  ma'chine.  The  street  at  this  point  is  very  narrow,  and 
prevented  any  man  from  reaching  the  lower  or  adjacent  part  of  Pearl  fi-om  this  end. 
A  burning  wall  of  fire  now  intervened,  and  increased  every  moment.  The  way  to 
the  alarming  scene  was  through  "VYilliam  and  Water  streets  and  Old  Slip.  After 
a  little  while  that  which  was  universally  dreaded,  happened — the  water  in  the 
hydrants  froze  and  prevented  the  engine  from  obtaining  any  further  supply.  Hav- 
ing drawn  the  '  machine'  to  a  safe  place,  the  firemen  nobly  went  to  work,  saving 
property.  It  was  all  they  possibly  could  do.  The  reader  must  remember  that  the 
thermometer  had  now  fallen  below  zero,  which,  added  to  a  biting,  fierce  winter  wind, 
paralyzed  the  exertions  of  both  firemen  and  citizens.  All  ordinary  means  for  stop- 
ping the  rapidly  increasing  flames  were  abandoned,  and  the  efforts  of  all  were 
directed  to  the  removal  of  the  contents  of  the  buildings  to  places  beyond  the  sup- 
posed reach  of  destruction.  In  this  way  immense  quantities  of  goods  Avere  placed 
in  the  large  Merchants'  Exchange  on  Wall  street,  in  Old  Slip,  Hanover  Square, 
and  the  G-arden  Street  Dutch  Church  and  its  adjoining  grave-yard.  In  a  few  hours, 
however,  the  devouring  element,  reaching  these  areas  and  splendid  edifices, 
swept  everything  away  as  with  the  '  besom  of  destruction.'  Millions  of  dollars 
were  consumed  in  a  very  short  time. 

I  am  writing  my  own  reminiscences  of  that  awful  night,  and  not  the  expe- 
riences of  another,  and  must  be  excused  if  I  often  use  the  personal  pronoun.  By  mid- 
night it- was  evident  that  no  earthly  power  could  stay  the  tlien  Etna-like  rapid  progress 
of  the  raging  torrent,  which  increased  every  moment  most  alarmingly,  and  spread 
in  every  direction,  except  toward  the  east.  Most  fortunately  it  did  not  cross  Wall, 
that  street  having  become  an  impassable  barrier,  else  the  eastern  and  upper  sections 
of  the  city  might  have  shared  the  same  fat  3  as  the  lower.  Who  can  tell  where  the 
calamity  would  have  paused,  for  there  were  immense  blocks  of  wooden  buildings 
on  Water  and  Cherry  and  Pearl  streets,  *  up'  town  more  than  *  down,'  and  inflam- 
mable magazines  which,  once  fired,  could  extend  the  common  destruction  over 
the  city. 

My  own  course  that  night  was  to  obtain  voluntary  aid,  and  entering  the  stores 
of  personal  friends  remove  if  possible  books  and  papers.  Such  was  absolutely  the 
heat  in  front  of  some  stores  on  the  south  side  of  Pearl,  near  Wall  street,  that 
although  they  were  not  yet  on  fire,  it  was  impossible  to  force  an  entrance  that  way, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  effect  it  from  Water  street,  as  those  buildings  extended 
through  the  block.  A  panel  in  the  rear  door  was  broken  out,  and  entering 
through  this  with  lanterns,  we  reached  the  counting-room,  and  then  collecting  the 
books  and  invoices  placed  them  in  a  hand-cart  and  sent  them  away.  It  is  impossible 
to  imagine  the  fervent  heat  created  by  the  increasing  flames.  Many  of  the  stores  were 
new,  with  iron  shutters,  doors,  and  copper  roofs  and  gutters,  *  fire-proof '  of  first- 
class,  and  I  carefully  watched  the  beginning  and  the  progress  of  their  destruction. 
The  heat  abne,  at  times,  melted  the  copper  roofing,  and  the  burning  liquid  ran  off 
in  great  drops ;  at  one  store,  near  Arthur  Tappan  &  Co.'s,  I  warned  some  firemen 
of  their  danger  from  this  unexpe3ted  source.     Along  here   the  buildings   were  of 


228 

the  first-class,  and  one  after  anotlier  ignited  under  the  roof,  from  the  next  edifice, 
downward,  from  floor  after  floor  went  the  devouring  element.  As  the  different 
stories  caught,  the  iron-closed  shutters  shone  with  glowing  redness,  until  at  last, 
forced  open  by  the  uncontrollable  enemy  within,  they  presented  the  appearance  of 
immense  iron  furnaces  in  full  blast.  The  tin  and  copper  bound  roofs  often  seemed 
struggling  to  maintain  their  fast  hold,  gently  rising  and  falling  and  moving,  until 
their  rafters  giving  way,  they  mingled  in  the  blazing  crater  below  of  goods,  beams> 
floors,  and  walls. 

On  the  noi'th  side  of  Hanover  Square  stood  the  fine  store-house  of  Peter  E,emsen 
&  Company,  one  of  the  largest  East  India  firms,  with  a  valuable  stock.  Here  we 
assisted,  and  many  light  bales  of  goods  were  thrown  from  the  upper  windows, 
together  with  a  large  amount  of  other  merchandise,  all  heaped  in  the  midst  of  the 
Square,  then  thought  to  be  a  perfectly  secure  place.  Vain  calculation  !  Both  sides 
of  Pearl  street  were  soon  in  the  furious  blaze,  and  the  ground  became  covered  with 
living  cinders.  This  whole  pile  dissolved  and  mingled  in  the  common  and  increas- 
ing ruin.  Water  street,  too,  was  on  fire,  and  we  hastened  to  the  old  firm  of  S.  B. 
Harper  &  Sons,  grocers,  on  Front,  opposite  Gouverneur  Lane,  where  there  appeared 
to  be  no  immediate  danger. 

The  father  and  sons  had  arrived,  and  we  succee(j  ed  in  removing  their  valuables. 
As  we  left  the  store  after  the  last  load,  a  terrible  explosion  occurred  near  by  with 
the  noise  of  a  cannon.  The  earth  shook.  We  ran  for  safety,  not  knowing  what 
might  follow,  and  took  refuge  on  the  corner  of  Gouverneur  Lane,  nearly  opposite. 
Waiting  for  a  few  minutes,  a  second  explosion  took  place,  then  another  and  another. 
During  the  space,  perhaps,  of  half  an  hour,  shock  after  shock  followed  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, accompanied  with  the  darkest,  thickest  clouds  of  smoke  imaginable.  The 
explosions  came  from  a  store  on  Front  street,  near  Old  Slip,  where  large  quantities 
of  saltpeter  in  bags  had  been  stored.  Suddenly  the  whole  ignited,  and  out  leaped 
the  flaming  streams  of  these  neutral  salts  in  their  own  peculiar  colors,  from  every 
door  and  window.  Some  might  have  called  them  fireworks.  We  have  never  forgot- 
ten this  saltpeter  eruption  or  explosion,  and  never  doubted  since  the  explosive 
character  of  the  article. 

About  midnight,  the  onward  march  of  the  uncontrolled  riotous  flames  had 
reached  the  East  River,  and  could  go  no  further  beyond  that  impassable  barrier. 
Before  this,  the  crowded  shipping  had  fortunately  sufficient  time  to  be  removed 
from  the  docks  and  slips.  One  of  the  most  grand  and  frightful  scenes  of  the  whole 
night  was  the  burning  of  a  large  oil  store  at  the  corner  of  Old  Slip  and  South  street- 
It  was  four  or  more  stories  high,  and  filled  with  windows  on  both  sides  without  any 
shutters.  This  was  before  the  days  of  petroleum  and  kerosene,  and  the  building  was 
full  of  sperm  and  other  oils.  These  fired  hogshead  after  hogshead,  and  over  the 
spacious  edifice  resembled  a  vast  bonfire  or  giant  beacon,  casting  its  bright  beams 
far  and  wide  on  the  river  and  surrounding  region,  but  finally  the  confined  inflam- 
mable mass,  from  eaves  to  cellar,  shot  out  with  tremendous  force  through  every 
window  and  opening,  and  soon  all  disappeared  except  the  cracked,  tottering,  and 
falling  walls. 

The  blazing  flying  timbers  were  carried  across  the  East  River,  and  in  one 
instance  set  fire  to  the  roof  of  a  house  in  Brooklyn,  which,  however,  was  quickly 
extinguished.  Large  quantities  of  tar  and  turpentine  on  the  wharves  becoming 
ignited,  ran  down  blazing  into  the  stream,  and  floating  off,  made  a  sort  of  burning 
sea,  many  square  yards  in  extent.  The  conflagration  increasing  every  moment, 
also  extended  inward  toward  Broadway.  Great  hopes  were  indulged  tliat  the 
Merchants'  marble  Exchange  (in  which,  since  1827,  the  Post-Office  had  been  located) 
would  escape.     In  the  vast  rotunda  of  the  edifice  stood  a  most  beautiful  white 


229 

marble  statue  of  Alexander  Hamilton.  Accordingly,  a  great  anxiety  was  manifested 
to  save  this  image  of  the  great  statesman.  It  was  a  masterpiece  of  art,  and  hund- 
reds of  willing  hands,  including  those  of  a  large  number  of  sailors,  undertook  its 
removal,  but  to  no  purpose,  and  the  finely  chiseled  marble,  with  the  solid  granite  of 
the  Exchange,  before  long  mingled  together  in  common  ruin.  The  letters  of  the 
Post-Office  were  alone  saved. 

There  was  evidently  now  no  salvation  for  those  fine  new  stores  on  William 
street  near  by,  and  in  Exchange  Place,  where  the  auctioneers  and  other  commission 
houses  had  located.  I  sought  the  premises  of  Burns,  Halliburton  &  Company,  one 
of  the  most  popular  firms  of  that  day.  They  were  the  agents  of  the  Merrimack  and 
other  works,  and  had  an  immense  valuable  stock  of  calicos,  muslin,  and  flannels. 
Their  large  store  extended  from  William  street  to  the  grave-yard  of  the  Garden 
Street  Church.  Most  of  the  stock  was  easily  removed  to  this  place  of  imagined 
security,  which,  indeed,  became  the  depot,  for  the  time  being,  for  millions  of  mer- 
chandise. We  soon  cleared  this  store.  The  firm  were  agents  also  for  extra  flannels. 
These,  packed  in  small  bales  and  light,  were  readily  cast  from  the  upper  stories  into 
the  grave-yard.  In  one  of  the  upper  lofts  I  met  a  member  of  the  firm,  Mr.  B.,  one 
of  Nature's  noblemen,  since  dead,  with  his  other  partners,  and  he  was  weeping. 
*  Too  hard,'  said  he,  '  after  all  the  toil  of  years,  to  see  property  thus  suddenly 
destroyed  !'  *  Cheer  up,'  we  replied,  *  the  world  is  still  wide  enough  for  success 
and  fortune,'  and  so  it  proved  to  him  and  many  other  sufferers. 

This  row  of  fine  new  stores  had  very  flat  roofs,  and,  imagining  that  a  good  view 
of  the  whole  conflagration  could  be  obtained  from  the  top,  we  soon  found  our  way 
th-3re.  Some  friends  in  the  yard,  fearing  that  we  had  been  locked  up  and  in  danger, 
screamed  like  wild  Indians,  pointing  out  a  way  of  escape.  But  there  was  no  danger, 
and  what  a  sight  now  presented  itself.  From  Maiden  Lane  to  Coenties  Slip  and 
from  William  street  to  the  East  River,  the  whole  immense  area,  embracing  some  thir- 
teen acres,  all  in  a  raging,  uncontrollable  blaze !  To  what  can  we  compare  it  ?  An 
ocean  of  fire,  as  it  were,  with  roaring,  rolling,  burning  waves,  surging  onward  and 
upward,  and  spreading  certain  universal  destruction,  tottering  walls  and  falling 
chimneys,  with  black  smoke,  hissing,  crashing  sounds  on  every  side.  Something  like 
this,  for  we  cannot  describe  it,  was  the  fearful  prospect,  and  soon  satisfied  with  the 
alarming,  fearful  view,  we  retreated  from  our  high  look-out.  The  light  had  spread 
more  and  more  vividly  from  the  fiery  arena,  rendering  every  object,  far  and  wide, 
minutely  discernible,  the  lower  bay  and  its  islands,  with  the  shores  of  Long  Island 
and  New  Jersay.  Ev^en  from  Staten  Island  the  conflagration  was  very  plainly  seen. 
A  sea  on  fire  is  perhaps  the  best  similitude  I  can  fancy  to  describe  this  grand  and 
awful  midnight  winter  scene. 

Not  long  after  we  left  our  high  stand-point  it  was  enveloped  in  the  universal 
blaze,  and  soon  the  Garden  Street  Church,  with  the  spire,  organ,  and  heaps  of 
goods  stored  within  and  outside,  were  consumed.  There  too  was  lost  the  venerable 
bell  which  had  been  removed  at  an  early  period  in  New  York  history  from  the  old 
St.  Nicholas  Church,  within  the  present  Battery.  '  What  more  can  be  done  to  stop 
the  progress  of  the  flames  ?'  becam(i  the  anxious  and  general  inquiry.  Mr.  Cornelius 
W.  LaAvrence,  the  Mayor,  appeared  with  his  officers,  and  after  consultation,  it  was 
determined  *  to  blow  up '  some  buildings,  and  the  east  corner  of  Coenties  Slip  and 
Coenties  Lane  (a  narrow  street),  was  selected  as  the  proper  place  to  begin  the  neces- 
sary work.  On  the  opposite  side  was  the  store  of  William  Van  Antwerp  &  Co., 
hardware  dealers  and  relatives  of  the  writer,  who,  engaged  at  this  point  in  saving 
goods,  could  see  the  necessary  preparations  for  the  blast.  The  building  to  be  *  blown 
up,'  I  think,  was  occupied  by  Wyncoop  &  Co.,  grocers.  It  was  large,  and  of  brick. 
Colonel  Smith  soon  arrived  with  the  powder  and  a  gang  of  officers  and  sailors  from 


230 

the  Navy  Yard;  and  none  else  were  permitted  to  interfere.  They  commenced 
mining  in  the  cellar,  and  placing-  heavy  timbers  upon  the  powder  kegs  and  against 
the  beams  of  the  floors,  everything  was  soon  ready  for  the  explosion.     A  friend  near 

by,  said  to  an  old  tar,  *  Be  careful  or  you  will  be  blown  up!'     *  Blow  and  be !' 

was  the  careless  and  characteristic  reply  to  the  warning.  But  all  having  been 
admirably  and  safely  arranged,  the  crowd  retreated.  The  touch  was  applied,  and 
in  an  instant  the  report  followed ;  then  the  immense  mass  heaved  up  as  if  by  magic, 
and  losing  its  fastenb  I  gs,  from  the  cellar  to  the  roof,  tottered,  shook,  and  fell.  A 
shout  went  up  from  the  gazing  spectators  ;  and  at  this  point  the  common  danger 
was  evidently  arrested,  thanks  to  Colonel  Swift,  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  and  Captain 
Mix  of  the  Navy,  and  their  noble,  brave  sailors.  Heroism  can  be  as  much  displayed 
at  a  terrible  catastrophe  of  this  kind,  as  on  the  bloody  field  of  battle,  and  it  was 
to-night.  This  party  of  miners  arrived  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when 
their  important  work  commenced.  They  continued  it  successfully  in  another  direc- 
tion ;  indeed,  it  was  believed  that  the  conflagration  was  at  last  checked  by  this  blow- 
ing up  of  the  buildings. 

Wearied  with  watching,  labor,  and  anxiety,  thousands  wished  for  the  return  of 
day,  and  at  length  a  dim  increasing  light  in  the  east,  but  enshrouded  with  dull, 
heavy  clouds  of  smoke  foretold  the  coming  morning.  And  what  an  unexpected 
melancholy  spectacle  to  thousands  did  New  York  present !  The  generous  firemen 
from  Philadelphia  soon  after  made  their  appearance ;  but  the  fire  had  been  checked. 
The  immense  remains  continued  to  blaze  and  burn  for  many  days.  We  could  now 
travel  around  the  bounds  of  the  night's  destruction,  but  no  living  being  could 
venture  through  them.  In  many  places  there  were  no  lines  of  the  streets  to  be  dis- 
covered at  all,  as  every  foot  of  ground  was  covered  with  the  heated  bricks,  timbers, 
and  rubbish  of  the  destroyed  buildings. 

Many  a  merchant  living  in  the  upper  section  of  the  city  went  quietly  to  bed 
that  night,  and  strange  as  it  may  seem,  when  he  came  down  town  the  next  morning 
literally  could  not  find  his  store  nor  enough  of  his  stock  remaining  to  cover  his  hand 
— every  yard,  ell,  pound  gone  !  There  were  official  statements  of  several  stores  in 
each  of  which  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars  in  goods  was  consumed,  with  books, 
notes  and  accounts.  New  York  the  next  day  sat,  as  it  were,  in  sackcloth  and  ashes, 
and  real  sorrow  began  to  appear  on  men's  faces  as  the  losses  and  ruin  were  discovered 
by  the  light  of  day.  To  increase,  also,  the  public  calamity,  the  insurance  companies, 
except  the  ^tna,  of  Harttord,  and  the  Chatham,  had  all  become  bankrupt  from  their 
severe  losses,  and  could  not  pay.     Universal  gloom  prevailed,  but  not  despondency. 

There  was  great  anxiety  expressed  for  the  preservation  of  the  Merchants, 
Exchange  on  Wall  street,  and  a  large  crowd  assembled  in  front  to  watch  the  noble 
edifice,  now  in  imminent  danger.  We  have  stated  that  the  letters  of  the  Post-Office^ 
then  in  its  basement,  were  saved,  and  the  marble  statue  of  Hamilton,  placed 
beneath  the  rotunda,  was  lost.  But  now  the  fire-fiend  had  reached  the  solid  struc- 
ture, and  all  hopes  of  saving  it  were  abandoned.  The  public  gaze  evidently  centered 
most  upon  its  cupola.  Higher  and  higher  the  flames  reached,  and  after  a  brief  con- 
flict the  roof  fell.  A  short  silence  ensued  in  the  almost  breathless  crowd,  but  what 
a  strange  thing  is  ever  a  mob  ?  Next  went  up — shall  we  call  it  a  fiendish  shout,  as 
a  friend  standing  by  did  at  the  time  ?  Then  came  another  pause,  the  lofty,  shooting 
fires  lighting  up  the  faces  of  surrounding  crowds.  At  this  moment  a  man  was  seen 
hurrying  along,  crying  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  '  Is  there  a  surgeon  among  you, 
gentlemen  ?  for  God's  sake  is  there  a  surgeon  ?'  The  report  soon  spread  that 
hundreds  were  in  the  Exchange  at  the  moment  its  cupola  fell,  and  those  dragged 
out  of  the  ruins  needed  a  surgeon's  care.     Pi  evidentially  this  was  not  the  case,  and 


231 

that  whicli  was  still  more  wonderful  and  striking,  no  fatal  or  serious  accident 
occurred  during  the  whole  of  this  awful  December  calamity. 

During  the  conflagration,  then  under  full  headway  toward  Broad  street,  the 
presence  of  mind  of  one  man  saved  much  property.  This  was  Downing,  the  oyster 
king,  of  Broad  street  fame.  Water  was  out  of  the  question,  and  at  this  emergency 
he  thought  of  his  supplies  of  vinegar,  which  were  large,  and  with  careful  applica- 
tion by  pail-full  after  pail-full,  a  large  amount  of  property  was  saved  in  that  direc- 
tion from  the  general  destruction.  To  his  good  sense,  and  credit,  and  worthy 
memory,  we  record  this  generous  act. 

We  forgot  to  mention  one  circumstance  connected  with  the  destruction  of  the 
Garden  Street  Church,  and  have  been  reminded  of  it  by  a  friend,  who  was  among  the 
very  last  persons  to  leave  the  sacred  edifice.  Many,  many  a  solemn  dirge  had  been 
played  upon  that  fine  organ  at  the  burial  of  the  dead,  and  now,  the  holy  temple  on 
fire,  some  one  commenced  performing  upon  it  its  own  funeral  dirge,  and  continued 
it  until  the  lofty  ceiling  was  in  a  blaze — the  music  ceased,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
beautiful  edifice,  with  its  noble  instrument  and  immense  quantities  of  goods  stored 
inside  and  out,  were  all  irrecoverably  gone,  nothing  escaping  save  the  long-sleeping 
dust  and  bones  of  the  buried  dead. 

I  forgot  also  to  mention  in  its  proper  place  some  items  about  the  old  '  Tontine 
Coffee-House.'  This  was  the  '  Exchange  '  of  the  city.  The  old  folks  may  remember 
its  rough  but  pleasant  keeper,  old  Buyden.  We  only  have  heard  of  his  fame,  and  it 
is  related  of  him,  that  when  the  first  anthracite  coal  was  offered  for  sale  in  New 
York,  he  tried  it  in  the  hall  of  the  Tontine ;  but  he  pronounced  the  new  article 
worse  than  nothing,  for  he  had  put  one  scuttle  into  the  grate,  and  then  another,  and 
after  they  were  consumed  he  took  up  two  scuttles  full  of  stones  ! 

In  the  great  fire  of  1835,  this  well-known  public  edifice  came  very  near  sharing 
the  common  destruction.  The  engines  had  almost  entirely  ceased  working,  and  the 
Tontine  was  discovered  to  be  on  fire  in  its  broad  cornices,  at  the  corner  of  Wall  and 
Water  streets.  This  created  still  greater  alarm,  for  the  burning  of  this  large  build- 
ing would  destroy  the  hopes  of  saving  the  eastern  section  of  the  city  if  not  more. 
Two  solitary  engines,  with  what  little  water  they  managed  to  obtain,  were  throwing 
their  feeble  and  useless  streams  upon  the  flaming  stores  opposite,  when  Mr.  Oliver 
Hull,  of  our  city,  calling  their  attention  to  the  burning  cornice,  generously  promised 
to  denote  one  hundred  dollars  to  the  Firemen's  Fund  '  if  they  would  extinguish  that 
blaze.'  Seeing  the  threatening  danger,  they  immediately  made  a  pile  of  boxes  which 
had  been  removed  from  the  adjacent  stores,  from  the  top  of  which,  by  great  efforts,  a 
stream  reached  the  spot  and  quickly  put  out  the  alarming  flame.  Mr.  Hull  is  still 
living,  and  thanks  to  him  for  his  wise  counsel  and  generosity  at  that  trying  moment, 
and  gratitude  to  the  noble  firemen  who  so  successfully  averted  the  awful  progress  of 
the  destroying  element  from  crossing  Wall  street  and  ending,  who  can  tell  where  ? 
They  were  frequently  told  of  the  vital  importance  of  preventing  the  conflagration 
extending  beyond  this  limit,  and  labored  accordingly,  and  with  the  happiest 
results. 

As  already  stated,  no  lives  were  lost  during  the  conflagration  ;  still  we  remember 
that  shortly  afterward,  one  of  our  most  widely-known  and  respected  fellow-citizens 
passed  away  in  death.  This  was  John  Laing,  often  called  *  Honest  John  Laing,'  the 
senior  partner  of  Laing,  Turner  &  Co.,  of  the  old  JHew  York  Gazette  and  General 
Advertiser,  and  his  last  illness — of  paralysis  or  apoplexy — was  hastened  by  the 
excitement  and  devastation  of  this  great  public  calamity.  He  was  a  gentleman  of 
the  old-school  queue  hair  style. 

In  the  estimated  thirteen  acres  of  the  burnt  district,  only  one  store  escaped 
entire.     This  was  occupied  by  the  well-known  John  A.  Moore  of  this  day,   in  the 


232 

iron  trade  on  Water  street  near  Old  Slip.  Watched  inside,  and  fire-proof,  in  their 
wildest  career,  the  rapid  flames  seemed,  as  it  were,  to  overleap  the  building,  destroy- 
ing all  others.  There  it  stood,  solitary  and  alone,  amidst  surrounding  entire 
destruction,  as  a  sad  monument  stands  alone  amid  the  general  ruin. 

As  many  as  three  or  four  buildings  were  blown  up  to  stop  the  progress  of  the 
fire,  all  other  eflPorts  having  failed,  and  if  such  a  measure  had  been  resorted  to 
earlier,  great  destruction  of  property  might  possibly  have  been  prevented.  There 
was  also  a  want  of  powder,  although,  unknown  to  the  citizens,  a  vessel  loaded  with 
the  article  lay  anchored  in  the  stream.  At  last  Mr.  Charles  King  generously  volun- 
teered to  visit  the  Navy  Yard  for  a  supply,  and  returned  with  a  band  of  marines 
and  sailors.  The  explosions  went  on  fearfully  and  successfully.  Up  and  down  went 
the  mined  structures,  two  barrels  of  powder  under  each,  until  no  flames  were  left, 
no  means  of  spreading  the  fiery  element  to  the  next  houses. 

The  extent  of  the  fire  in  December,  18-35,  may  be  imagined  from  its  several 
limits.  These,  commencing  at  Coffee-House  Slip,  extended  along  South  street  to 
Coenties  Slip,  thence  to  near  Broad,  along  William  to  Wall,  and  down  that  street  to 
the  East  River  on  the  south  side,  with  the  exception  of  Nos.  51,  53,  55,  57,  59  and 
61,  along  where  the  new  splendid  banking-house  of  Brown  Brothers  &  Company 
now  stands.  This  burned  district  embraced  some  thirteen  acres,  in  which  nearly 
seven  hundred  houses  were  leveled  to  the  ground  in  a  single  winter's  night,  with  a 
loss  of  seventeen  million  dollars ;  four  millions,  it  was  calculated,  was  the  value  of 
the  buildings,  and  thirteen  of  the  goods.  During  a  few  hours  this  vast  amount 
disappeared,  either  in  the  flaming  atmosphere  or  in  ashes  upon  the  earth — the  most 
costly  goods  and  products  from  every  portion  of  our  globe.  Some  merchants,  retiring 
to  bed  wealthy  in  the  evening,  and  perhaps  so  dreaming,  found  themselves  the  next 
morning  either  ruined  or  their  estates  seriously  injured.-  In  the  impressive  language 
of  Scripture,  their  riches  had  taken  wings  and  flew  away  in  a  single  night,  warehouse, 
stock,  notes,  and  books,  all  gone  beyond  recovery. 

After  the  general  consternation  had  somewhat  subsided,  a  public  meeting  assem- 
bled in  Mr.  Lawrence's  office  (the  Mayor's),  City  Hall,  to  consider  what  should  be 
done  under  the  circumstances.  At  this  meeting  committees  were  appointed  to 
provide  means  for  the  relief  of  the  most  necessitous  cases,  and  to  ascertain  the  con- 
dition of  the  insurance  companies,  and  the  amount  of  the  losses  as  far  as  practicable. 
The  writer  acted  as  secretary  of  this  last  committee,  and  the  losses  absolutely  stated 
from  various  firms  and  parties  amounted  to  seventeen  millions  of  dollars.  In  many 
cases  they  were  total.  Some  would  not  name  their  damages,  and  among  them  very 
large  houses,  and  although  the  seventeen  millions  were  reported  by  the  losers,  still 
the  committee  estimated  the  real  loss  at  twenty  millions  of  dollars.  To  increase  the 
difficulties,  all  the  insurance  companies,  except  the  two  mentioned  in  a  former 
article,  failed  to  meet  the  demands  against  them,  but  paid  as  much  as  they  were 
able,  and  this  consumed  all  their  assets,  leaving  them  bankrupt.  This  result  caused 
great  distress  atnong  a  class  who  had  been  otherwise  unharmed — old  people,  widows, 
orphans,  and  others,  whose  income  came  from  fire  insurance  dividends  ;  these  were 
now  at  an  end,  and  many  suffered  severely  in  consequence.  Among  the  first  acts 
of  the  public  committee  was  to  relieve  this  class. 

In  respect  to  the  entire  loss,  some  accounts  place  the  number  of  buildings  at 
five  hundred  and  twenty-eight,  others  higher.  Let  us  visit  the  'Burnt  Dis- 
trict,' as  it  was  then  named,  commencing  at  the  eastern  limits.  Coft'ee-House 
Slip,  and  South,  Front,  and  Water  streets,  were  burnt  down  from  Wall  street  to 
Coenties  Slip,  Pearl  consumed  from  the  same  point  to  Coenties  alley,  and  there,  as 
we  have  seen,  stopped  by  the  blowing  up  of  a  building.  This  was  tlic  well-known 
crowded  region  of  the  dry-goods  importers  and  jobbei's,  merchant  princes  in  the 


233 

gTanite  palaces,  filled  with  the  richest  merchandise,  domestic  and  imported.  The 
destruction  on  Stone  street,  extended  down  from  William  to  then  No.  32,  one  side, 
and  to  No.  39  on  the  other.  Beaver  was  destroyed  half-way  to  Broad.  Exchange 
place  was  burned  from  Hanover  street  to  within  three  doors  of  Broad,  and  here  also 
the  flames  were  arrested  by  blowing  up  a  house.  The  loss  on  William-  street  was 
complete,  commencing  at  Wall  and  ending  in  South,  and  on  both  sides,  including 
the  market  in  Old  Slip.  Wall  street  was  devastated  on  the  south  side  from 
William  to  South,  excepting,  as  we  have  noticed,  Nos.  51,  53,  55,  57,  59,  and  61. 
The  greatest  efforts  were  made  along  here  to  prevent  the  flames  reaching  the  banks 
and  offices  on  the  opposite  side.  Here  was  located  the  Courier  and  Inquirer  office, 
and  we  well  remember  the  noble  person  of  its  editor,  Col.  Webb,  as  he  stood  on  a 
prominent,  elevated  place,  exhorting  the  people  to  renewed  diligence  and  efforts  to 
save  the  city.  All  the  intermediate  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys  within  these  limits 
were  also  swept  away  by  the  destroying  element.  The  following  statement  will  be 
found,  we  imagine,  nearly  accurate,  of  the  house  -  and  stores  leveled  to  the  earth : 

On  Wall  street 26    On  Old  Slip 33 

On  South  street 76    On  Stone  street 40 

On  Front  street 80    On  Mill  street 38 

On  Water  street 76    On  Beaver  street 23 

On  Pearl  street 79    On  Hanover  street 16 

On  Exchange  place 62     On  Coenties  Slip 16 

On  Gouverneur's  Lane 20    On  Hanover  Square 3 

On  Jones's  Lane 10    On  Cuyler's  Alley 20 

On  Exchange 31  

On  William  street 44  Total 674 

Six  hundred  and  seventy-four  tenements  were  thus  consumed  in  a  few  short 
hours,  and  the  far  greater  part  were  occupied  by  New  York's  largest  shipping 
and  wholesale  dry-goods  merchants,  besides  many  grocers. 

This  was  a  terrible  day  for  the  commercial  emporium  of  our  land.  The  de- 
struction had  been  fearful,  and  so  were  the  consequences.  In  a  few  months  the 
United  States  Bank  suspended  payment ;  then  followed  the  commercial  distress  of 
1837,  and  for  a  time  business  seemed  paralyzed.  Next  came  bankruptcy  after  bank- 
ruptcy in  quick  succession,  and  soon  the  banks  of  our  State  stopped  paynxent  for 
one  year.  The  Legislature  legalized  this  necessary  public  act.  What  a  disastrous 
moment  I  what  terrible  reverses!  what  gloomy  forebodings  and  prospects  !  But  the 
most  wonderful  fact  of  all  these  fearful  times  was  the  energy  and  elasticity  of  the 
New  Yorkers.  Not  long  depressed  by  their  misfortunes,  a  reaction  took  place,  and 
before  many  months  the  city  literally  arose  from  her  ashes,  and  acres  of  splendid 
granite,  marble,  brown-stone,  and  brick  stores  filled  the  entire  '  Burnt  District.'  Bus- 
iness, trade,  and  commerce  revived  more  briskly  than  ever  before.  How  truly 
astonishing,  and  how  noble  and  praiseworthy.  What  shall  we  call  our  native  city 
— the  giant  of  the  Western  World,  the  queen  of  America,  the  commercial  empo- 
rium, or  by  what  other  name  ?  Her  wharves  and  streets  are  now  visited  by  men 
from  every  region  of  the  world,  and  her  white  canvas  gladdens  every  ocean.  In 
vain  do  we  search  for  a  chapter  in  ancient  or  modern  history  of  such  a  conflagra- 
tion and  its  losses,  and  of  rapid  recovery  from  all  its  evils,  with  increasing  pros- 
perity, as  we  find  in  the  great  fire  of  New  York  in  December,  1835.  Well  may 
New  Yorkers  be  proud  of  their  noble  city,  her  enterprise,  her  trade,  and  her 
'merchant  princes.'  " 

New  York  had  now  fairly  distanced  all  competitors.  The  gas  had 
been  introduced  into  the  city  in  1825 ;  the  magnificent  Merchants' 
Exchange  on  Wall  street  (the  present  Cnstom-House)  and  the  Custom- 


234 

House  (now  the  Sub-Treasury),  erected  iu  1827  ;  the  Croton  Acqueduct 
completed  and  its  practical  utility  inaugurated  by  a  brilliant  procession  in 
1842  ;  and  a  communication  by  the  magnetic  telegraph  opened  with  other 
cities.  Nothing  was  wanting  to  her  temporal  prosperity  ;  her  civil  freedom 
was  all  that  could  be  desired ;  and  one  thing  only  was  necessary  to  place 
her  on  a  footing  with  her  sister  cities  in  breadth  and  liberality  of  senti- 
ment. Nor  was  she  long  in  taking  this  last  step.  By  the  provisions  of 
an  act,  passed  by  the  New  York  Board  of  Education,  on  the  11th  of  April, 
1842,  it  was  declared  that  no  school  in  which  any  religious  or  sectarian 
doctrine  or  tenet  was  taught,  should  receive  any  portion  of  the  school 
moneys  to  be  distributed  by  this  act.  Archbishop  Hughes  at  once  took 
the  ground  that  to  allow  the  Bible  to  be  read  daily  in  the  schools  was 
teaching  a  sectarian  doctrine,  and  therefore  demanded  that  the  schools  in 
which  it  was  read  should  not  be  included  in  the  distribution  of  the 
moneys.  Colonel  Stone,  who  for  many  years  had  been  one  of  the  School 
Commission,  and  at  this  time  (1843-44)  was  Superintendent  of  the 
Common  Schools,*  immediately  protested  against  the  promulgation  of  this 

*  The  difficulty  which,  the  author  experienced  in  endeavoring  to  discover  the 
year  in  which  Col.  Stone  was  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  deserves  particular 
mention,  as  showing  the  shiftless  manner  in  which  the  public  records  are  kept  in 
the  City  of  New  York.  Wishing  to  ascertain  the  exact  year  in  which  Mr.  Stone  held 
the  office,  he  went  to  a  gentleman  (we  will  call  him  A),  whom  he  knew  to  be  engaged 
in  writing  a  history  of  our  common  schools  and  asked  the  question.  The  gentleman 
was  unable  to  tell  him  at  the  moment,  but  referred  him  to  the  Board  of  Education 
as  the  place  where,  of  course,  the  desired  information  could  be  obtained.  The  author 
went  there  and  asked  an  officer  of  the  Board  the  question.  He  could  not  tell  him, 
but  referred  him  to  a  gentleman  up  stairs  who  would  know.  The  latter,  however, 
was  equally  in  the  dark,  but,  in  his  turn,  referred  his  questioner  to  a  gentleman  down 
stairs  in  still  another  department,  who,  having  been  connected  with  the  Board  for  a 
long  term  of  years,  would  certainly  know.  Upon  repeating  the  question  to  this  one, 
he  was  informed  that  he  did  not  know,  as  until  within  a  few  years  the  school  records 
had  not  been  annually  printed,  and  that  the  manuscript  kept  by  the  different  secre- 
taries before  that  time  was  mislaid.  He,  however,  was  positive  that  if  he  should  go 
to  Mr. ,  in  Wall  street,  he  would  know,  as  he  was  one  of  the  School  Commis- 
sioners in  the  year  designated.  To  him,  therefore,  the  author  went;  but  his  astonish- 
ment may  well  be  imagined  when  that  person  said  he  had  entirely  forgotten,  but 
stated  that  if  he  would  go  to  such  a  one — mentioning  the  veritable  Mr.  A. — he  could 
undoubtedly  tell  him,  as  he  was  now  engaged  upon  a  history  of  the  common  schools ! 
This,  if  not  "reasoning  in  a  circle,"  certainly  was  questioning  in  a  circle,  the  ques- 
tioner having  brought  up  at  the  very  point  from  which  he  started  !  Finally,  upon 
the  author  making  a  second  visit  to  the  room  of  the  Board,  an  attache  of  the  place, 
who  had  a  dim  recollection  of  a  record-book  being  in  the  cellar,  went  down  stairs, 
and  after  much  search  exhumed  the  manuscript,  from  which,  after  patient  search, 
the  desired  information  was  brought  to  light.  Now,  if  such  difficulty  exists  in 
ascertaining — not  an  insignificant  fact,  but  one  relating  to  the  Superintendent  of 
Common  Schools  only  twenty  years  since — what  would  be  the  difficulty  in  finding 
the  history  of  events  which  occurred  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  years  ago  ? 

We  have  stated  the  above  with  no  intention  of  throwing  censure  upon  the 


235 

atrocious  sentiment.  A  lengthy  public  discussion  upon  this  point  fol- 
lowed between  the  Archbishop  and  Mr.  Stone,  in  which  the  latter  carried 
the  day ;  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Education,  held  November  13, 
1844  (two  months  after  Mr.  Stone's  death),  the  act  was  amended  by  a 
resolution  to  the  effect  "  that  the  Bible,  without  note  or  comment,  is  not 
a  sectarian  book,  and  that  the  reading  of  a  portion  of  the  Scriptures 
without  note  or  comment,  at  the  opening  of  the  schools,  is  not  inculcating 
or  practicing  any  religious,  sectarian  doctrine  or  tenet  of  any  particular 
Christian  or  other  religious  sect."  The  catholic  spirit  of  New  York's 
Dutch  ancestors  had  triumphed.  Henceforth,  it  is  hoped  that  she  will 
be  as  cosmopolitan  in  her  religious,  as  she  is  in  her  civil  rights. 

In  1845  New  York  was  again  visited  by  a  conflagration  second  only 
in  its  ravages  to  the  one  of  1835. 

THE    FIEE    OF    1845. 

The  burnt  district  embraced  Broadway,  Exchange  Place,  Whitehall, 
New,  and  Broad  streets,  Beaver,  Marketfield,  Stone,  and  Whitehall,  and, 
which  is  a  striking  coincidence,  a  portion  of  the  same  region  devastated 
by  the  great  conflagration  in  '35,  ten  years  before  ! 

It  broke  out  on  July  19,  1845,  completely  destroying  Exchange 
Place  and  Beaver  street  from  Broadway  almost  to  Wilham.  Both  sides 
of  Broad  street,  from  above  Exchange  Place  to  Stone,  with  the  east  sides 

officers  of  the  present  Board.  The  fault  lies  not  at  their  door.  On  the  contrary, 
with  great  courtesy,  they  endeavored  to  aid  us  to  the  extent  of  their  ability,  and 
realized  in  its  fullest  extent  the  evils  of  the  manner  in  which  the  records  had  in 
former  times  been  kept.  Indeed,  it  is  only  justice  to  say  that  it  has  been  through 
their  exertions  that  the  proceedings  have  latterly  been  printed. 

Another  remarkable  illustration  of  the  subject  existed  a  few  years  ago  inthe 
basement  of  the  City  Hall  under  the  County  Clerk's  Office.  The  ancient  rolls  of  the 
colonial  courts  were  one  grand  pile  of  parchment,  lying  in  mass,  and  great  quanti- 
ties were  stolen  and  sold  to  gold-beaters.  It  would  probably  be  impossible  at  the 
present  time  to  find  the  judgment-roll  in  any  cause  tried  prior  to  the  year  1787, 
unless  by  chance.  Possibly  there  has  been  more  care  of  late  in  the  preservation  of 
these  records.     Their  value  cannot  be  overestimated. 

Although  there*  may  be  spasmodic  attempts  by  individuals  to  bring  about  a 
reform  in  this  regard,  yet  we  greatly  fear  that  it  will  continue  so  long  as  the  true 
cause  of  the  difficulty  remains,  to  wit,  that  political  maxim — the  bane  of  American 
institutions — "  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils."  New  office-holders  care  little  for  old 
records;  and,  throwing  aside  all  sentiment  in  the  matter,  unless  this  thing  is 
rectified,  it  will,  in  time,  embarrass  the  practical  business  relations  of  every-day 
life.  More  attention  must  be  paid  to  preserving  records.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
make  enormous  jobs,  such  as  the  atrocity  which  was  perpetrated  in  New  York 
City  in  reference  to  the  Register's  Office.  What  is  needed  is,  a  general  respect  for 
the  value  of  old  records,  and  the  adoption  of  preservative  means.  Better  paper 
to  record  on  ;  better  binding  to  keep  ;  and  above  all,  fire-proof  buildings  for  all  public 
records. 


236 

of  Broadway  and  Whitehall  were  consumed.  Above  Exchange  Place 
the  flames  crossed  Broadway  and  consumed  a  number  of  buildings  on  its 
west  side.  During  the  progress  of  the  fire  a  tremendous  explosion  took 
place,  similar  to  that  of  lh35,  in  a  building  stored  with  saltpeter.  The 
owner  contended  that  this  article  could  not  explode,  which  gave  rise  to 
the  long-debated  question,  ''  Will  saltpeter  explode  ?"  and  for  a  long  time 
able  and  scientific  men  warmly  took  sides  in  the  arguments.  Explosive 
or  not,  this  was  the  second  store  filled  with  the  article  that  blew  up, 
causing  great  alarm  and  destruction  to  the  neighborhood. 

Three  hundred  and  forty-five  buildings  were  swept  away  at  this 
time.  Their  value,  with  the  goods,  was  estimated  at  about  $5,000,000. 
Among  other  things  destroyed  was  the  old  "  Old  Jail  Bell,"  which  had 
hung  and  rung  in  the  cupola  of  that  ancient  civil  pest-house  and  prison 
during  the  American  Eevolution.  There,  as  already  stated,  for  years  it 
was  the  fire-alarm  or  signal,  and  was  considered  especially  the  firemen's 
bell,  as  it  could  be  depended  on  at  all  times.  At  an  early  period,  when 
it  uttered  its  warning  tones,  citizens  with  fire-buckets  on  their  arms, 
might  be  seen  hastening  to  the  scene  of  danger  and  forming  into  par- 
allel lines,  one  to  pass  the  full  buckets  to  fill  the  engines,  and  the  other 
to  return  the  empty  ones  for  refilling.  Most  of  the  New  York  families 
had  such  leather  buckets,  which  generally  hung  in  some  prominent  part 
of  the  hall  or  entry,  ready  at  hand  in  case  of  need. 

The  signal-bell  rang  in  the  days  of  John  Lamb  and  pleasant-faced 
Tommy  Eranklin,  and  during  Jameson  Cox's  and  Wyman's  and  Gulick's 
administrations.  It  was  cherished  by  the  firemen,  and  upon  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Bridewell  the  old  bell  was  placed  in  the  cupola  of  the  Naiad 
Hose  Company,  Beaver  street,  and  was  still  devoted  to  its  long -established 
uses.  But  the  great  fire  of  '45  swept  away  this  building,  with  its  ven- 
erable bell,  and  the  faithful  old  public  sentinel,  sounding  its  last  alarm, 
succumbed  to  the  flaming  foe  against  which  it  had  so  many  years  suc- 
cessfully warned  the  citizens. 

THE    OLD    AND    IfEW    FIUE    DErAKTMENT. 

How  different  the  Eire  Department  now  from  the  one  of  former 
years,  when  men  were  the  horses  to  drag  the  ropes  of  the  machine,  and 
their  strong  arms  the  motive  power  to  work  them  !  Now  we  have  in  their 
places  horses  to  pull  the  engines,  and  the  mighty  giant ,  steam,  to  force 
the  water  upon  the  raging  fiery  element.  Still,  the  little  old-fashioned 
hand  fire-engines  did  wonderful  service  in  their  day;  and  indeed  the 
noble  bearing,  bravery,  endurance,  and  success  of  our  New  York  firemen 
had  a  world-renowned  fame.  For  a  long  while  "  No.  5"  on  Fulton  street, 
with  "  14,"  near  St.  Paul's  Church,  were  considered  the  "  crack  compa- 
nies" of  the  city,  the  first  to  reach  a  fire  and  among  the  last  to  leave  it, 
and  many  a  race  they  had.     Before  the  year   1798,  the  citizens  of  New 


237 

York  volunteered  to  take  charge  of  and  manage  the  fire-engines,  but  in 
the  month  of  >  March  of  that  year  the  Legislature  granted  an  act  of 
incorporation  by  which  the  firemen  of  the  city  were  "  constituted  and 
declared  to  be  a  body  politic  in  fact  and  in  the  name  of  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment." This  was  the  origin  of  the  system  nearly  seventy  years  ago. 
This  act  continued  until  April,  1810,  and  has  been  renewed  from  time  to 
time  since  the  Common  Council'  appointed  a  "  Chief  Engineer,  with  a 
salary  of  eight  hundred  dollars  per  annum,"  to  whom  was  confided  the 
sole  control  of  this  department.  He  reported  twice  a  year  to  the  Com- 
mon Council  the  condition  of  the  engines,  buckets,  houses,  and  apparatus. 
He  also  reported  all  fires  and  their  accidents,  with  the  number  of  build- 
ings destroyed  or  injured,  the  names  of  the  sufferers,  with  the  probable 
cause  of  the  burning,  &c. 

The  Fire  Wardens  were  also  appointed  by  the  Common  Council,  but 
none  were  eligible  until  they  had  served  as  firemen  five  years.  They 
were  a  kind  of  overseers  at  the  fires,  and  during  the  months  of  June 
and  December  examined  all  fire-place's,'  chimneys,  stoves,  ovens,  and 
boilers,  and  if  found  defective,  ordered  the  owners  to  repair  them,  and  if 
neglected  a  fine  of  $25  was  imposed.  They  also  examined  all  buildings, 
and  would  often  order  hemp,  hay,  gunpowder,  and  other  combustible 
articles  to  be  removed  to  safe  places,  under  a  penalty  of  $10. 

The  firemen,  divided  into  companies,  chose  their  own  foreman, 
assistant,  and  clerk,  from  their  own  number.  The  fire-wardens  wore  a 
hatjthe  brim  of  which  was  black,  the  crown  white.  The  city  arms  were 
blazoned  on  its  front.  They  also  carried  a  speaking-trumpet,  painted 
white,  with  "  Warden,"  in  black  letters.  AVhen  a  building  took  fire  in 
the  night,  notice  was  immediately  given  by  the  watchmen  to  the  members 
of  the  corporation,  fire-wardens,  and  bell-ringers ;  they  also  called  out 
"  Fire,"  and  the  inhabitants  placed  lighted  candles  in  their  windows  to 
aid  the  engines  in  their  passages  through  the  streets.  Watchmen  neg- 
lecting their  duties  were  liable  to  a  tine  of  $100.  When  a  chimney  took 
fire  the  occupant  of  the  house  was  fined  $5.  The  same  fine  was  imposed 
upon  carpenters  who  did  not  carefully  remove  their  shavings  at  the  end 
of  every  day's  work.  A  person  using  a  lighted  lamp  or  candle  in  a 
store-house,  unless  secured  in  a  lantern,  forfeited  $10. 

Forty  years  ago,  Mr.  Cox,  the  Chief  Engineer,  reported  forty-two 
engines  in  good  order,  five  hook  and  ladder  trucks,  and  one  hose  wagon, 
with  10,256  feet  of  good  hose ;  also  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  buckets, 
and  twenty-eight  ladders  and  thirty  hooks.  The  total  number  of  men 
belonging  to  the  Fire  Department  was  1,347.  What  a  wonderful  change 
in  the  system  since  !  In  1865,  the  Metropolitan  Fire  Department  was 
created  and  chartered  by  the  Legislature,  Charles  E.  Pinkney,  president, 
and  that  fine  old  fireman,  Philip  W.  Engs,  treasurer.  Now  they  use 
steam,  horse,  and  man  power,  and  have   also  the   Croton  water.     The 


238 

new  act  allows  twelve  steam  fire-engines  and  hook  and  ladder  companies, 
the  engines  to  have  one  foreman,  one  assistant,  an  engineer,  stoker, 
driver,  with  seven  firemen.  To  the  hook  and  ladders,  each  one  foreman, 
one  assistant,  a  driver,  and  nine  firemen. 

Their  pay  is  fixed  at  $3,000  per  annum  to  the  Chief  Engineer ; 
Assistants,  $2,000;  District  Engineer,  $1,500;  Foremen,  $1,100;  Assist- 
ant, $900 ;  engineer  of  steam-engine,  $r,080;  stokers,  drivers,  and  fire- 
men, $840  each;  Superintendent  of  Telegraph,  $1,800  ;  telegraph  opera- 
tors, $1,000  each;  battery  boy,  $500  ;  line-man,  $1,000  ;  and  bell-ringers, 
each  $800.  The  Department  are  uniformed,  and  their  engines  have 
increased  to  forty-four,  and  the  hook  and  ladders  to  seventeen. 

Many  fires  have  occurred  since  the  one  of  1845.  Theaters,  opera- 
houses,  hotels,  museums,  and  churches  have  fallen  before  the  destroyer, 
each  involving  heavy  losses ;  but  the  city  has  never  since  been  visited  by 
such  wholesale  destruction  of  property ;  and  it  is  fervently  to  be  hoped 
that  New  York,  protected  by  its  present  efficient  Eire  Department,  has 
experienced  the  last  of  similar  calamities. 

In  August,  1865,  the  Old  Wareen"  Mansion",  one  of  the  last  of  the 
ancient  landmarks  that  linked  modern  to  old  New  York,  was  torn  down;  its 
beautiful  lawns  covered  with  brick,  and  its  massive  locusts  cut  down  and 
given  to  the  winds.  This  mansion,  which  stood  near  the  intersection  of 
Charles  street  and  Bleecker,  was  built  by  Sir  Peter  Warren  about  1740. 
Although  when  demolished,  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  yet  at  that  time  it 
stood  in  the  open  country  with  its  lawns  reaching  down  to  the  North 
River — long  before  even  the  first  cottage  had  been  built  in  the  village  of 
Greenwich.  It  is  indeed  safe  to  say  that  around  no  other  house  did 
there  cluster  so  many  associations  which  to  New  Yorkers  should  be 
especially  dear.  Admiral,  afterward  Sir  Peter  Warren,  the  hero  of 
Lewisburg,  is  scarcely  known  to  the  present  generation ;  and  yet  aside 
from  his  being  so  long  identified  with  the  naval  glory  of  England,  he  was 
in  our  colonial  history  the  great  man  of  an  era,  and  at  one  time,  during 
the  administration  of  Clinton,  exercised  more  influence  in  the  Colonial 
Government  than  even  the  Governor  himself.  At  that  time  when  the 
extreme  limit  of  our  city  was  Wall  street,  the  house  No.  1  Broadway,  by 
the  Bowling  Green — now  the  Washington  Hotel — was  built  by  Sir  Peter 
as  his  town  house,  in  distinction  from  his  country  seat — the  house  of  which 
we  are  now  speaking.  In  1748,  when  the  small-pox  was  raging  in  this 
city,  the  Colonial  Assembly — to  getoutof  reach  of  the  contagion,  accepted 
Sir  Peter's  tender  of  his  country  seat  and  adjourned  thither  to  escape 
the  plague  by  being  in  the  country  !  It  indeed  seemed  really  cruel  to 
cut  down  those  ancient  trees  planted  by  the  Admiral's  own  hand.  A 
tree,  like  a  tooth,  it  very  easily  removed  but  is  a  long  time  in  growing  ;  and 
it  is  thus  that  a  Spanish  peasant  feels  when,  with  religious  feeling,  he 
stoops  down  by  the  wayside  and  plants  the  pit  or  seed  of  the  fruit  which 


239 

he '  has  been  eatino;.  It  were  to  be  wished  that  Americans  had  more 
veneration  for  the  ancient  traditions  of  their  own  country  and  for  the 
vestiges  of  the  past.  A  few  individuals  occasionally  have  this  feeling, 
and  in  a  large  measure  ;  but  as  a  nation  we  have  no  love  for  the  past,  and 
hence  old  landmarks,  pregnant  with  hallowed  associations,  are  continu- 
ally being  removed  to  make  room  for  "modern  improvement,"  until  it  is 
to  be  feared  that  soon  oral  tradition  will  be  all  that  will  be  left  to  inform 
the  risino^  oreneration  of  what  once  was.  It  is  true  that  more  attention  is 
now  paid  to  our  past  history  than  formerly  by  Historical  Societies  ;  but 
they  are  powerless  in  very  many  instances  to  arrest  the  hand  of  vandal- 
ism. The  practice  of  the  old  country  in  this  respect  is  far  different.  An 
old  abbey  or  castle,  or  even  an  old  tavern,  is  guarded  with  zealous  care  ; 
the  government — if  private  liberality  is  in  fault — pays  out  large  sums  to 
keep  them  intact ;  and  the  people,  even  the  lowest,  feel  a  personal  inter- 
est in  the  preservation  of  some  relic  which  their  village  may  perchance 
boast  of.  Especially  is  this  difference  in  feeling  between  the  old  world 
and  the  new  seen  in  the  care  with  which  all  the  mementos  of  a  battle- 
field are  preserved.  In  Germany,  for  example,  while  the  most  ignorant 
peasant  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  any  of  the  battle-fields  of  the  thirty 
years'  war  will  tell  you  accurately  and  truthfully  where  this  and  that 
point  of  interest  is  ;  where  the  battle  raged  the  hottest  and  where  the 
turning  point  was  reached ;  a  well-to-do  farmer  in  America,  residing  on 
the  battle-field  itself,  will  be  unable  to  point  out  a  single  place  of  interest 
— and  he  will  do  very  well  if  he  knows  that  there  was  a  battle  fought  on 
his  farm  at  all.  Even  at  this  very  time,  two  farmers,  living  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  scene  of  the  famous  battle  of  Stillwater,  are  busily  advo- 
cating their  claims  to  living  upon  the  particular  spot  upon  which  the 
famous  charge  of  the  British  Highlanders  was  made — and  yet  the  farms 
lie  a  mile  distant  from  each  other !  Chancing,  moreover,  to  visit,  a  year 
or  two  since,  the  ruins  of  Fort  Ticonderoga,  on  Lake  Champlain,  the  writer 
was  pained  to  find  that  the  farmers  in  the  vicinity  had  for  several  years 
past  been  in  the  habit  of  pulling  down  the  ruins  and  drawing  them  off 
for  the  purpose  of  building  fences.  But  it  is  not  too  late  to  prevent  the 
removal  of  the  few  old  landmarks  that  yet  remain  among  us.  In  the 
densely  settled  parts  of  the  city  where  they  stand,  there  is  great  need  of 
breathing-places — and  why,  therefore,  cannot  our  city  government  buy 
the  spots  and  let  them  remain  as  little  parks  ?  The  public  certainly 
would  feel  much  better  satisfied  with  this  expenditure  of  the  public  funds 
by  the  City  Council  than  voting  silver  services  or  costly  badges.  Or  if 
this  cannot  be  done,  will  not  some  of  our  wealthy  and  influential  citizens 
start  and  carry  through  a  subscription  for  their  purchase  ? 

But  we  moralize  in  vain,  for  even  while  we  are  writing,  and  before 
the  ink  is  dry  on  the  pen  which  wrote  the  last  sentence,  the  JSfew  York 
Eoening  Post  of  to-day  (April  4th,  18G8),  says  : 

"  The  widening  of  the  Bloomingdale  road  into  the  new  Boulevard,  soon  to  be 


240 

begun  by  tbe  Park  Commissioners,  will  cause  the  removal  of  several  old  landmarks. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  is  an  old  house  on  Broadway,  between  Seventy- 
fifth  and  Seventy-sixth  streets,  which  possesses  gi'eater  historic  interest  than  is 
generally  known  even  to  those  living  in  its  immediate  vicinity.  It  was  here  that 
Louis  Phillippe,  of  France,  taught  school  during  his  residence  in  America,  and  the 
room  in  which  his  classes  were  held  remains  in  nearly  the  same  condition  as  during  his 
occupancy  of  it.  This  quaint  old  house  was  erected  some  time  previous  to  the  Revo- 
lution, although  no  accurate  record  of  its  age  can  be  found.  The  original  deed  of 
transfer  was  executed  in  1796,  but  the  house  is  known  to  be  considerably  older  than 
this,  as  it  was  standing  several  years  previous  to  the  sale  of  the  farm. 

It  is  a  low  two-story  frame  house  with  brick  ends,  covering  a  space  fifty  by 
eighty  feet  square,  substantially  built  and  still  habitable,  though  it  has  not  been 
occupied  for  the  past  thirteen  years  or  more.  A  steep,  sloping,  shingle  roof  extends 
from  the  eaves  of  the  porch  in  front  to  the  extreme  rear  kitchen,  with  dormer 
windows  to  light  the  upper  rooms.  In  the  interior,  on  either  side  of  the  central 
hall,  are  parlors  and  sitting-rooms,  with  low  ceilings  and  narrow  doorwa5'-s.  The 
wood-work  in  these  rooms  is  finished  with  an  elaborate  care  not  seen  in  houses  of 
this  class  now-a-days.  There  are  corner  cupboards  with  carved  and  paneled  doors, 
quaintly  ornamented  window  casings,  immense  fire-places,  surbases  finished  with  a 
profusion  of  moulding,  and  doors  that  seem  to  have  been  put  together  like  a  Chinese 
puzzle.  Tlie  stairs  are  narrow  and  steep,  turning  squarely  at  each  platform,  instead 
of  winding,  as  in  more  modern  houses.  Around  the  fire-place  in  the  school-room  of 
the  exiled  King,  is  a  row  of  blue  and  white  Antwerp  tiles,  ornamented  with  pictures 
from  the  New  Testament,  with  the  chapter  and  verse  to  which  they  refer  indicated 
in  large  characters  beneath.  These  are  probably  the  last  that  remain  in  New  York 
of  the  historic  Dutch  tiles  that  were  once  so  fashionable.  This  venerable  mansion, 
which  is  probably  the  oldest  in  the  city,  was  formerly  the  homestead  of  the  Somer- 
indike  family,  who  once  owned  nearly  all  the  surrounding  part  of  the  island  not 
included  in  the  extensive  Harsen  estate.  About  1846  it  was  purchased  by  the  late 
Edward  F.  Cullen,  a  well-known  and  wealthy  Irish  citizen,  and  is  now  owned  by 
his  heirs." 

The  history  of  New  York  City  lias  now  been  brought  down  to  a 
comparatively  recent  period — a  period  within  the  recollection  of  almost 
the  youngest  inhabitant.  The  limits  of  this  work  will  not  permit  us  to 
speak  at  length  of  the  causes  which  have  led  to  the  commercial  and  local 
prosperity  of  New  York  ;  the  nature  and  extent  of  her  benevolent  insti- 
tutions ;  and  the  character  of  her  merchant  princes.  Wealth,  in  itself^  is 
no  evidence  of  a  city's  prosperity  ;  and,  therefore,  we  do  not  refer  to  those 
of  her  rich  men  who  are  distinguished  for  that  alone,  and  whose  names 
will  readily  suggest  themselves  to  the  reader.  But  we  do  take  pride  in 
pointing  to  men  whose  immense  wea'th  is  guided  and  controlled  by  the 
principles  of  evangelical  religion.  Of  this  latter  class  are  Marshall  0. 
Roberts,  the  brothers  R.  L.  and  A.  Stewart,  William  E.  Dodge,  S.  B. 
Schieffelin — and  others  of  similar  character — men  who  are  distinguished 
alike  for  their  christian  virtues  and  purity  of  life,  and  for  their  unparalleled 
business  success.  Nor,  were  there  ample  space,  is  there  any  inclination 
to  recall  in  detail  that  which  must  ever  remain  a  foul  blot  on  the 
otherwise  bright  escutcheon  of  New  York :    the   disgraceful  scenes  of 


241 

the  riot  of  the  13th,  14th,  and  15th  of  July,  1863.  We  would  rather 
dwell  on  pleasanter  themes — the  establishment  of  that  noble  work,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  under  the  guidance  of  WilHam  E 
Dodge,  Jr.,  and  Eobert  R.  McBinney* — the  opening  of  that  great  lung  of 
the  city,  the  Central  Park, — and  the  part  taken  by  the  city  in  the  late 
civil  war — leading  the  van  in  every  movement  having  for  its  object  either 
the  support  of  the  Government,  or  the  relief  of  its  brave  defenders. 
These  events,  however,  are  too  well  known  to  need  recapitulation  here. 
A  brief  retrospe<!tive  glance,  or  rather  a  comparison  between  old  and 
modern  New  York,  will  therefore  conclude  this  sketch.  Nor,  perhaps, 
can  this  be  done  better  than  by  giving  at  length  a  few  of  the  closing 
passages  of  Dr.  Osgood's  admirable  address,  dehvered  before  the  New 
York  Historical  Society,  on  the  occasion  of  its  sixty- second  anniversary, 
in  November,  1866  : 

"  In  1796,  taxes  were  light,  being  about  one  half  of  one  per  cent. : 
and  in  that  year  the  whole  tax  raised  was  £7,968,  and  the  whole  valua- 
tion of  property  was  £1,261,585 — estimates  that  were  probably  about 
half  the  real  value,  so  that  the  tax  was  only  about  one-fourth  of  one  per 

*  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  of  New  York  City,  was 
organized  July,  1852,  and  incorporated  April,  1860,  for  the  "  Improvement  of  the 
Spiritual,  Mental,  Social,  and  Physical  Condition  of  Young  Men."  The  Association 
seeks  to  accomplish  the  purposes  of  its  organization  by  the  employment  of  the  fol- 
lowing agencies,  namely  :  Free  Reading-Rooms,  a  Free  Circulating  and  a  Free 
Reference  Library,  Sunday  Evening  Sermons,  Free  Lectures  at  Rooms,  Prayer- 
Meetings,  Bible-Classes,  Social-  and  Musical  Meetings,  Readings,  a  Literary  Society 
and  a  Musical  Society;  by  aiding  in  the  selection  of  good  boarding-places;  by 
obtaining,  as  far  as  possible,  situations  for  those  who  are  out  of  employment ;  by 
visiting  and  relieving  those  who  are  sick  and  in  want ;  by  introducing  strangers  to 
fit  persons  for  friends  and  acquaintances,  and  to  suitable  church  connections,  and  by 
the  use  of  every  other  means,  in  harmony  with  the  name  it  bears,  that  may  tend  to 
cheer,  aid,  and  guide  young  men,  especially  such  as  come  from  country  homes  or 
foreign  lands. 

A  very  valuable  plot  of  land  on  the  south-west  corner  of  Fourth  avenue  and 
Twenty-third  street  has  recently  been  purchased,  at  a  cost  of  |142,000,  for  the 
erection  of  a  building  worthy  of  the  work  to  which  the  Association  has  devoted  its 
energies.  The  building  will  cost  about  $200,000.  The  vigor  and  good  judgment 
with  which  the  Association  has  always  conducted  its  work,  has  given  to  it  the  full 
confidence  of  the  very  best  men  in  the  city.  Its  real  estate  is  held  by  a  Board  of 
Trustees,  composed  of  such  men  as  Stewart  Brown,  Robert  L.  Stuart,  James  Stokes, 
Charles  C.  Colgate,  Robert  Lenox  Kennedy,  Jonathan  Sturges,  etc. 

"Hundreds  of  young  men,"  writes  Mr.  McBinney  to  the  writer,  "  from  all  parts 
of  our  own  land,  as  well  as  from  Europe,  come  to  us  for  advice  on  temporal  and 
spiritual  things.  We  are  careful  not  to  make  public  the  cases  which  come  under 
our  notice,  so  that  young  men  may  come  to  us  with  full  confidence  when  in  difficulty. 
Many  who  have  been  thvis  quietly  helped  are  now  holding  prominent  positions  in 
the  city." 

The  Rooms  of  the  Association  are  at  161  Fifth  Avenue,  76  Yarick  street,  and 
122d  street  and  Third  avenue,  and   at  97  Wooster  street  for  colored  young  men. 

16 


242 

cent.  A  man  worth  $50,000  was  thought  rich,  and  some  fortunes  reached 
$250,000.  Mechanics  had  a  dollar  a  day  for  wages,  and  a  genteel  house 
rented  for  $350  a  year,  and  $750  additional  would  meet  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  living  for  a  genteel  family — such  as  now  spends  from  $6,000 
to  $10,000,  we  have  good  reason  to  believe,  from  such  authority  as  Mr. 
D.  T.  Valentine,  Clerk  of  the  Common  Council.  A  good  house  could  be 
bought  for  $3,000  or  $4,000,  and  flour  was  four  and  five  dollars  a  barrel, 
and  beef  ten  cents  a  pound. 

There  were  great  entertainments,  and  men  ate  and  drank  freely — 
more  freely,  apparently,  than  now — but  nothing  of  present  luxury  pre- 
vailed in  the  high  classes  ;  and  how  rare  the  indulgence  was,  is  proved 
by  the  common  sajdng,  that  '  the  Livingstons  give  champagne,'  which 
marked  their  case  as  exceptional.  Now,  surely,  a  great  many  families  in 
New  York  besides  the  Livingstons  give  champagne,  and  not  always 
wisely  for  their  own  economy  or  their  guests'  sobriety. 

These  homely  items  give  a  familiar  idea  of  old  New  York  in  1801. 
We  must  remember  that  it  was  then  a  provincial  city,  and  had  nothing 
of  its  present  back-country  connection  with  the  West,  being  the  virtual 
capital  of  the  Hudson  E-iver  Valley  rather  than  that  of  the  great  Empire 
State.  Buffalo,  Syracuse,  Utica,  and  the  noted  cities  of  Western  New 
York,  were  but  names  then,  and  Albany  was  of  so  little  business  note 
that  the  main  communication  with  it  was  by  dilatory  sloops,  such  as 
Irving  describes  after  his  slow  voyage  in  the  craft  that  he  long  waited  for, 
and  which  gave  him  ample  time  to  study  the  picturesque  on  the  Hudson, 
with  such  food  for  his  humor  as  the  Captain's  talk  in  Dutch  to  his  crew 
of  negro  slaves.  What  a  contrast  with  a  trip  now  in  the  St.  John  or  the 
Dean  Richmond — marine  palaces  that  float  you,  as  in  a  dream  by  night? 

through  the  charmed  passes  of  the  Hudson  to  Albany  ! 

*  *  *  *  ^  * 

The  New  York  Churches  were  strong ;  but  the  clergy  were  httle 
given  to  speculative  thinking,  and  no  commanding  thinker  appeared 
among  them,  such  as  abounded  in  New  England.  They  kept  the  old 
creeds  and  usages  with  a  strength  that  awed  down  dissent,  and  with  a 
benign  temper  that  conciliated  favor.  Latitudinarian  tendencies  were 
either  suppressed  or  driven  into  open  hostility  with  the  popular  creeds 
under  deistical  or  atheistical  teachers.  In  all,  the  congregations  num- 
bered thirty,  and  the  Jews  had  one  synagogue.  Even  the  most  radical 
congregation  in  the  city,  the  Universalist,  held  mainly  the  old  theological 
views,  and  had  only  one  point  of  peculiar  doctrine,  and  even  with  this 
single  exception,  and  with  all  the  orthodox  habits,  they  had  only  a  lay 
organization  in  1801,  and  were  without  a  regular  minister  till  1803. 

The' Dutch  Reformed,  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  and  Methodists, 
numbered  each  five  congregations ;  the  Baptists,  three ;  the  Friends,  two ; 
the  Lutherans,  two ;  the  Eoman  Catholics,  Huguenots,  Moravians,  and 


243 

Universalists,  one  each.  Some  writers  erroneously  assign  seven  churches^ 
instead  of  five,  to  the  EpiscopaHans  in  1801,  by  claiming  for  them  the 
Huguenot  Church  Du  Saint  Esprit,  which  was  established  in  1704,  and 
acceded  to  the  Episcopal  Church  in  1804;  and  Zion  Church,  which  was 
established  by  the  Lutherans  in  1801,  and  joined  the  Episcopal  commu- 
nion in  1810. 

As  far  as  we  can  judge,  the  Presbyterian  clergy  had  most  of  the 
new  American  culture  of  the  severer  kind,  and  Drs.  Samuel  Miller  and 
John  M.  Mason  were  the  intellectual  leaders  of  the  New  York  pulpit. 
The  only  man  to  be  named  with  them  in  popular  influence  was  John 
Henry  Hobart,  who  was  ordained  in  1801,  consecrated  Bishop  in  1811, 
and  who,  in  spite  of  his  extreme  views  of  Episcopal  prerogative,  is  to  be 
named  among  the  fathers  of  the  American  Church,  and  a  good  specimen 
of  what  old  Trinity  Church  has  done  to  unite  patriotism  with  religion. 

The  Episcopal  Church  had  much  accomplishment  in  its  clergy,  and 
Bishop  Prevoost,  who  received  ordination  in  England,  was  a  man  of 
extensive '  knowledge ;  and  Dr.  Livingston,  of  the  Dutch  Church,  was  a 
good  match  for  him  in  learning  and  dignity.  It  is  said  that  when  these 
clerical  magnates  met  on  Sundays  and  exchanged  salutations,  they  took 
up  the  entire  street,  and  reminded  beholders  of  two  frigates  under  full 
sail,  exchanging  salutes  with  each  other. 

*  "^  We  may  regard  old  New  York  as  culminating  in  the  year  1825, 
with  the  completion  of  the  Erie  Canal ;  and  that  great  jubilee  that  mar- 
ried this  city  to  the  mighty  West,  began  a  new  era  of  triumph  and 
responsibility,  that  soon  proved  that  the  bride's  festival  is  followed  by  the 
wife's  cares  and  the  mother's  anxieties.  New  York  had  become  the 
national  city,  and  was  so  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  more,  and  then  she 
became  cosmopolitan,  European  as  well  as  American,  and  obviously  one 
of  the  few  leading  cities  of  the  world — the  third  city  of  Christendom. 
We  may  fix  this  change  upon  the  middle  of  the  century  as  well  as  upon 
any  date,  and  call  the  time  from  1850  till  now  her  cosmopolitan  era.  The 
change,  of  course,  was  gradual,  and  the  great  increase  of  the  city  dates 
from  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  and  the  evacuation  of  the  city 
by  the  British  troops.  The  population  doubled  nearly  in  the  ten  years 
after  1790,  and  went  from  33,000  to  60,000.  In  1825  it  reached  166,086, 
and  in  1850  rose  to  515,515.  All  this  increase  could  not  but  bring  a  new 
sense  of  power,  and  throughout  all  the  bewildering  maze  of  the  old  New 
York  politics  we  can  see  traces  of  the  desire  of  the  people  and  their  leaders 
to  dispute  the  palm  of  empire  with  Virginia  and  its  old  dominion. 

*  *  The  introduction  of  gas  and  of  the  Croton  water  were  grand  illus- 
trations of  the  power  of  organized  industry,  and  mighty  aids  in  throwing 
light,  health,  and  purity  into  the  lives  of  the  people  ;  and  the  rise  of  the 
great  popular  daily  journals  that  almost  created  the  national  press  of 
America,  made  an  era  in  the  free  fellowship  of  public  thought.     The  City 


244 

pushed  its  triumphal  march  forward  during  that  period,  from  Bleecker 
street  to  Madison  Square,  and  vainly  tried  to  halt  its  forces  at  Washing- 
ton and  Union  Squares,  or  to  pause  long  anywhere  on  the  way  of  empire. 
The  whole  period  would  make  an  important  history  of  itself,  and  our  task 
now  is  with  the  New  York  of  to-day,  as  it  has  risen  into  cosmopohtan 
rank  since  1850 — the  year  which  gave  us  a  line  of  European  steamers  of 
our  own,  and  opened  the  Golden  Gate  of  California  to  our  packets. 

Look  at  our  city  now  in  its  extent,  population,  wealth,  institutions, 
and  connections,  and  consider  how  far  it  is  doing  its  great  work,  under 
God's  providence,  as  the  most  conspicuous  representative  of  the  liberty  of 
the  nineteenth  century  in  its  hopes  and  fears.  You  are  too  familiar  with 
the  figures  and  facts  that  show  the  largeness  of  the  city,  to  need  any 
minute  or  extended  summary  of  recapitulation.  That  we  are  not  far 
from  a  million  of  people  on  this  island,  that  began  the  century  with 
60,000  ;  that  the  valuation  of  property,  real  and  personal,  has  risen  since 
1805  from  $25,000,000,  to  $736,988,058  ;  that  the  real  value  of  property 
here  is  about  $1,000,000,000,  or  a  thirtieth  part  of  the  entire  property  of 
Great  Britain ;  that  our  taxes  within  that  time  have  risen  from  $127,000 
to  $16,950,767,  over  four  and  a  half  millions  more  than  our  whole 
national  expenditure  in  1801 ;  that  our  banking  capital  is  over  $90,000,- 
000,  and  the  transactions  of  our  Clearing  Houses,  for  the  year  ending 
October  1,  1866,  were  over  $29,000,000,000;  that  our  Savings-Banks 
have  300,000  depositors,  and  $77,000,000  of  deposits ;  that  our  108  Fire 
Insurance  Companies  and  38  Fire  Agencies  have  a  capital  of  $47,560,000, 
and  our  18  Life  Insurance  Companies  a  capital  of  $2,938,000,  whose 
premiums  last  year  were  nearly  $9,000,000  ;  that,  by  the  census  of  1865, 
the  number  of  dwellings  was  49,844,  and  the  value  of  them  was 
$423,096,918;  that  this  city,  by  the  census  of  1860,  returned  a  larger 
manufacturing  product  than  any  other  city  in  the  Union,  and  more  than 
any  State,  except  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and  Pennsylvania — the  sum 
total  of  $159,107,369,  from  raw  material  worth  $96,177,038  in  4,375 
establishments,  with  90,204  operatives,  and  $61,212,757  capital,  and 
manufactured  nearly  one-eleventh  of  the  sum  total  of  the  United  States 
manufactures  in  1860,  which  was  $1,885,861,676;  that  in  twenty  years 
we  exported,  from  September  1,  1846,  to  September  1,  1866,  to  Europe, 
over  27,000,000  barrels  of  flour,  over  164,000,000  bushels  of  wheat,  127-, 
000,000  bushels  of  corn,  nearly  5,000,000  bushels  of  rye ;  that  the 
receipts  for  customs  in  this  port  for  1865  were  $101,772,905  ;  that  this 
City  is  the  great  gold  market  of  the  world,  and  in  1865  received  $61,- 
201,108,  and  exported  over  $30,000,000  abroad,  and  received  in  twelve 
years,  1854  to  1866,  from  San  Francisco  $375,558,659  in  gold ;  that  our 
shipping,  registered  and  enrolled  in  1865,  amounted  in  tonnage  to  1,223,- 
264  tons,  and  the  number  of  arrivals  of  vessels  in  this  port  in  1865  was 
12,634,  of  these,  2,078  being  steamers ;    that  our  exports  for  the  year 


246 


1865  were  $208,630,282,  and  our  imiDorts  were  $224,742,419  ;  that,  on 
an  average,  35  tons  of  mail-matter  are  received  here  for  our  citizens,  and 
55  tons  are  sent  out  daily  ;  that  the  average  number  of  mail-bags  received 
is  385,  and  the  average  number  sent  out  is  713  ;  that  within  three  years 
and  a  half  the  mail  correspondence  of  our  citizens  has  doubled ;  that  the 
number  of  letters  and  newspapers  collected  by  the  carriers  for  the  quarter 
ending  December  31,  1865,  was  over  3,000,000,  and  the  number  deUvered 
by  them  was  over  3,600,000,  and  the  dehveries  from  Post-Office  boxes 
for  the  same  quarter  were  over  5,000,000  ;  that  the  increase  of  letters  is 
so  marvelous  that  New  York  may  soon  rival  London,  which,  in  1862, 
received  by  mail  151,619,000  letters ;  these  and  the  like  plain  statistics 
are  sufficient  to  ^rove  the  imperial  wealth  and  power  of  New  York,  and 
to  startle  us  with  the  problem  of  its  prospective  growth,  when  we  remem- 
ber that  4:yq  per  cent,  increase,  which  has  been  generally  the  actual  rate 
of  increase,  will  give  us  a  population  of  some  4,000,000  at  the  close  of  the 
century. 

*  *  Let  us  pass  in  review  the  industrial  army  of  the  city,  which 
General  Barlow,  Secretary  of  State,  aUows  me  to  copy  from  the  unpub- 
lished census  of  1865,  and  let  us  imagine  it  divided  into  regiments,  thus, 
of  about  a  thousand  persons  each : 

Blacksmiths,  over  two  and  one-half regiments  or 

Bookbinders,  over  one 

Boiler  Makers,  nearly  one 

Boot  and  Shoe  Makers,  over  six 

Butchers,  four 

Brokers,  one  and  one-third 

Barbers,  one 

Cabinet  Makers  and  Dealers,  two  and  one-half 

Carpenters,  over  six 

Cartmen  and  Draymen,  four  and  one-half 

Clerks,  seventeen  and  one-half 

Clergy,  nearly  one-half 

Confectioners,  nearly  one 

Cooks,  one 

Coopers,  one  and  one-half 

Dressmakers,  etc.,  nine  and  one-half 

Drivers,  nearly  two 

Engineers,  over  one 

C-rocers,  one 

Hat  and  Cap  Makers,  one  and  one-half 

Jewelers,  one 

Laborers,  twenty-one  and  one-quarter 

Laundresses,  three  and  one-half 

Lawyers,  one  and  one-fourth 

Merchants,  six 

Machinists,  three 

Masons,  three 

Milliners,  one  and  one-third 


tnents  or 

....  2,621 

<( 

...  1,134 

(( 

910 

« 

. . .  6,307 

a 

...  8,998 

a 

...  1,348 

i( 

...  1,054 

a 

...  2,575 

a 

. . .  6,352 

n 

. . .  4,675 

a 

...  17,630 

i( 

429 

a 

756 

« 

...   906 

« 

...  1,401 

<( 

. . .  9,501 

(< 

...  1,895 

« 

...  1,196 

(( 

937 

<< 

. . .  1,438 

« 

925 

« 

...  21,231 

<( 

...  3,590 

(( 

...  1,232 

a 

...  5,978 

ti 

...  3,108 

a 

...  2,757 

« 

...  1,334 

246 

Musicians,  nearly  one regiments  or ... .        80&^ 

Painters  and  Glaziers,  four «  3  gOl 

Peddlers,  two «  1 938 

Physicians,  one  and  one-fourth "  1  269 

Piano  Makers,  nearly  one «  855 

Plumbers,  one ««  _  ^  ^  ^     1  108 

Police,  one  and  one-half «'  1  545 

Porters,  nearly  three "  , . , ,     2  729 

Printers,  two "  , , ,  ^      2  186 

Saddlers  and  Harness  Makers,  one "  ....        915 

Sailors  and  Marines,  over  three «  3,288 

Servants,  thirty-three "  33  282 

School-Children,  one  hundred «  100,000 

Ship  Carpenters,  one "  1,156 

Stone  Cutters,  one  and  one-third "  1  342 

Tailors,  ten "  ....      9,734 

Teachers,  over  one  and  one-half "  1,608 

Tinsmiths,  one "  931 

These  occupations  and  others  that  I  might  present  from  the  volu- 
minous pages  of  the  census,  reckon  about  150,000  of  the  people,  and  with 
school-children  a  quarter  of  a  million. 

*  *  The  marvelous  growth  of  population,  within  twenty  years, 
has  added  half  a  million  to  our  numbers,  and  called,  of  course,  for  new 
measures,  and  ought  to  be  some  excuse  for  some  mistakes  and  disap- 
pointments. The  charter  bears  the  mark  of  many  changes,  and  is 
destined  to  bear  more.  The  original  charter  was  given  by  James  II,  in 
1686  ;  was  amended  by  Queen  Anne  in  1708  ;  further  enlarged  by  George 
II  in  1730,  into  what  is  now  known  as  Montgomerie's  Charter,  and 
as  such  was  confirmed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Province 
in  1732,  and  made  New  York  essentially  a  free  city.  The  Mayor  was 
appointed  by  the  Provincial  Governor  and  Council,  till  the  Pevolution  ; 
by  the  State  Governor  and  four  members  of  the  Council  of  Appointment, 
till  1821  ;  by  the  Common  Council,  until  1834,  and  afterward  by  the 
people.  In  1830,  the  people  divided  the  Common  Council  into  two 
boards,  and  in  1849  the  government  was  divided  into  seven  departments, 
the  heads  of  each  being  chosen  by  the  people,  and  the  Mayor's  term  of 
ofiice  being  extended  to  two  years.  In  1853,  the  Board  of  Assistant 
Aldermen  was  changed  to  a  Board  of  sixty  Councilmen,  and  the  term  of 
Aldermen  extended  to  two  years.  In  1857,  the  number  of  Aldermen  was 
reduced  from  twenty-two  to  seventeen,  and  the  sixty  Councilmen  t^ 
twenty-four ;  and  the  present  complex  system  of  government  was  estab- 
lished, with  its  many  disconnected  branches  and  equivocal  division  of 
power  between  the  city,  county,  and  State.  Strangely  is  the  Mayor 
shorn  of  power,  and  the  office  which  De  Witt  Clinton  preferred  to  his 
place  in  the  National  Senate,  is  now  Httle  more  than  a  name  and  position- 
Still,  the  essence  of  Montgomerie's  old  charter  remains,  and  the  true 
spirit  can  redress  the  new  corruptions. 


247 

*  *  With-  all  the  drawback  of  defective  municipal  government? 
the  city  is  a  great  power  in  the  Union,  and  gave  its  wealth  and  men  to 
the  nation.  Nay,  its  very  passion  has  been  national,  and  the  mass  who 
deplored  the  war  never  gave  up  the  Union,  and  might,  perhaps,  have 
consented  to  compromise  rather  than  to  disunion,  and  have  gone  beyond 
any  other  city  in  clinging  to  the  Union  as  such,  whether  right  or  wrong. 
The  thoughtful  mind  of  the  city  saw  the  true  issue,  and,  whilst  little 
radical  or  doctrinaire  in  its  habit  of  thinking,  and  more  inclined  to  trust  to 
historical  tendencies  and  institutional  discipline  for  the  removal  of  wrong 
than  to  abstract  ideas,  it  did  not  waver  a  moment  after  the  die  was 
cast,  and  the  blow  of  rebellion  and  disunion  was  clear.  The  ruling 
business  powers  of  the  city  gave  money  and  men  to  the  nation,  when  the 
Government  was  halting  and  almost  paralyzed.  The  first  loan  was 
hazardous,  and  the  work  of  patriotism ;  and  when  our  credit  was  once 
committed,  the  wealth  of  the  city  was  wholly  at  the  service  of  the  nation ; 
and  the  ideas  of  New  England,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  West,  marched 
to  victory  with  the  mighty  concurrence  of  the  money  and  the  men  of  the 
Empire  City  and  State.  The  State  furnished  473,443  men,  or,  when 
reduced  to  years  of  service,  1,148,604  years'  service ;  equal  to  three  years' 
service  of  382,868  three  years'  men;  and  the  city  alone  furnished 
116,382  men,  equal  to  267,551  years'  service,  at  a  net  cost  of  $14,577,214.65. 
That  our  moneyed  men  meant  devoted  patriotism,  it  is  not  safe  to  say  of 
them  all.  In  some  cases,  their  capital  may  have  been  wiser  and  truer 
than  the  capitalist,  and  followed  the  great  current  of  national  life. 
Capital,  Hke  water,  whose  currents  it  resembles,  has  its  own  laws,  and  he 
who  owns  it  cannot  change  its  nature,  any  more  than  he  who  owns  a 
water-power  can  change  the  power  of  the  water.  The  capital  of  this  city  is 
bound,  under  God,  to  the  unity  of  the  nation,  and,  therefore,  has  to  do  a 
mighty  part  in  organizing  the  liberty  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Led  by 
the  same  large  spirit,  and  true  to  the  Union  policy  which  has  been  the 
habit  of  the  community  from  the  old  Dutch  times,  the  dominant  thought 
of  our  people  will  be  sure  to  vindicate  the  favorite  idea  of  States  Rights 
m  the  Union  against  States  Wrongs  out  of  it ;  and  the  seceded  States  will 
be  restored  as  soon  as  they  secure  the  States  that  have  never  seceded  the 
just  fruits  of  the  war  for  the  national  life — and  guarantee  them  against 
all  repetition  of  the  treason.  The  end  shall  be  liberty  for  all ;  for  the 
white  man  and  the  black  man,  everywhere ;  for  the  South  as  well  as  the 
North. 

*  *  And  how  shall  we  estimate  the  education  of  our  people  in  its 
various  forms  ;  by  schools,  colleges,  newspapers,  books,  churches,  and,  not 
least,  by  this  great  university  of  human  Hfe  which  is  always  before  our 
eyes  !  Think  of  the  208,309  scholars  reported  in  1865  in  our  pubHc  schools, 
and  the  average  attendance  of  86,674  in  those  schools,  and  over  100,000 
scholars  in  regular  attendance  in  all  our  schools,  both  public  and  private. 


248 

Think  of  our  galleries  of  art,  private  and  public,  and  our  great  libraries 
and  reading-rooms  like  the  Astor,  the  Mercantile,  the  Society,  and  the 
Cooper  Union.  Consider  the  remarkable  increase  of  private  hbraries, 
such  as  Dr.  Wynne  has  but  begun  to  describe  in  his  magnificent  volume. 
Think  of  our  press,  and  its  constant  and  enormous  issues,  especially  of 
daily  papers,  which  are  the  peculiar  hterary  institution  of  our  time,  and 
alike  the  common  school  and  university  of  our  people.  Our  350  churches 
and  chapels,  258  of  them  being  regular  churches  of  all  kinds,  can  accom. 
modate  about  300,000  hearers,  and  inadequate  as  in  some  respects  they 
are,  as  to  location  and  convenience,  they  can  hold  as  many  of  the  people 
as  wish  to  attend  church,  and  far  more  than  generally  attend.  Besides 
our  churches  and  chapels,  we  have  powerful  rehgious  instrumentalities 
in  our  religious  press,  and  our  city  is  the  center  of  publication  of  leading 
newspapers,  magazines,  and  reviews,  of  the  great  denominations  of  the 
country.  In  these  organs  the  best  scholars  and  thinkers  of  the  nation 
express  their  thought  in  a  way  wholly  unknown  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century,  when  the  religious  press  of  the  country  was  not  apparently 
dreamed  of.  The  higher  class  of  religious  and  theological  reviews  that 
are  pubHshed  here,  are,  perhaps,  the  best  specimens  of  the  most  enlarged 
scholarship  and  severe  thinking  of  America,  and  are  doing  much  to 
educate  an  enlightened  and  truly  cathohc  spirit  and  fellowship.  If  the 
question  is  asked,  in  view  of  all  these  means  of  education,  what  kind  of 
mind  is  trained  up  here,  or  what  are  the  indications  of  our  New  York 
intelligence,  it  may  not  be  so  easy  to  say  in  full,  as  to  throw  out  a  hint  or 
two  by  way  of  suggestion.  There  is,  certainly,  what  may  be  called  a 
New  York  mind  and  character,  and  there  must  be  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  case.  Some  characteristics  must  mark  each  community,  as  the 
results  of  birth  and  breeding ;  and  however  great  the  variety  of  elements, 
some  qualities  must  predominate  over  others  in  the  people,  as  in  the 
climate  and  fruits  of  a  country.  Where  two  tendencies  seem  to  balance 
each  other  for  a  time,  one  is  sure,  at  last,  to  preponderate,  and  to  gain 
value  and  power  with  time,  and  win  new  elements  to  itself.  It  is  not 
hard  to  indicate  the  essential  New  York  character  from  the  beginning- 
It  is  positive,  institutional,  large-hearted,  genial,  taking  it  for  granted 
that  all  men  are  not  of  one  pattern,  and  that  we  are  to  Hve  by  allowing 
others  to  have  their  liberty  as  we  have  ours. 

*  *  How  far  assimilation  in  its  various  forms  of  thought  and  life 
is  to  go,  we  can  only  conjecture ;  for  the  process  has  but  begun.  Our 
community,  like  every  other  community,  must  go  through  three  stages  of 
development  to  complete  its  providential  evolution  :  aggregation,  accom- 
modation, and  assimilation.  The  first  stage  is  aggregation ;  and  that 
comes,  of  course,  with  the  fact  of  residence.  Here  we  are,  about  a  million 
of  us,  aggregated  on  this  healthy  and  charming  island,  and  here  we  most 
of  us  expect  and  wish  to  stay.     We  are  seeking  our  next  stage,  and  wish 


249 

accommodation   not   with   entire  success,   and  the  city  is  distressed  by- 
prosperity,  and  is  like  an  overgrown  boy,  whose  clothes  are  too  small  for 
his  limbs,  and  he  waits  in  half  nakedness  for  his  fitting  garments.    In  some 
respects,  the  city  itself  is  a  majestic  organism,  and  we  have  light,  water, 
streets,  and  squares,  much  to  our  mind,  always  excepting  the  dirt.      The 
scarcity  of  houses,  the  costs  of  rent,  living,  and  taxation  are  grievous,  and 
driving  a  large  portion  of  our  middling  class  into  the  country.     Yet  the 
city  is  full  and  overflowing,  and  is  likely  to  be.     The  work  of  assimilation 
is  going  on,  and  every  debate,  controversy,  and  party,  brings  the  various 
elements  together ;  and  we  are  seeing  each  other,  whether  we  differ  or 
agree.     Great  progress  has  been  made  in   observing   and  appreciating 
our  situation  and   population.     Probably  New  York  knows  itself  better 
to-day  than  at  any  time  since  its  imperial  proportions  began  to  appear. 
In  poUtics,  pohce,  philanthropy,  education,  and  religion,  we  are  reckoning 
our  classes,  numbers,  and  tendencies,  and  feeling  our  way  towards  some 
better  harmony  of  ideas  and  interests.     The  whole  population  of  the  city 
was,  by  census  of  1860,  813,669;  and  by  the  census  of  1865,726,386. 
The   voters  number    151,838;    native,   51,500;  foreign,    77,475.     Over 
twenty-one  years,  they  who  cannot  read  and  write  are  19,199.     Families 
number  148,683.     Total  of  foreigners  by  census  of  1860,   was  383,717; 
and   by   the   census  of  1865,313,417.     Number  of  women  by  census  of 
1865  was  36,000  more  than  of  men,  and  of  widows,  over  32,000  ;  being 
25,000  more  widows  than  widowers.     The   Germans,  by   the   census  of 
1860,  numbered  119,984;  and   by  the  census  of  1865,  107,269.      This 
makes  this  city  not  the  third,  but  the  eighth  city  in  the  world  as  to  Ger- 
man population.     These  German  cities  have  a  larger  population  :  Berlin, 
Tienna,  Breslau,  Cologne,  Munich,  Hamburg,  and  Dresden.     The  Irish, 
by  the  census  of  1860,  number  203,700;  and  by  the  census  of  1865,  161,- 
334.     New  York  now,  we  believe,  has  a  million  of  residents,  and   either 
peculiar  difficulties  in  the  census  commission  of  1865,  or  peculiar  influen- 
ces after  the  war,  led  to  the  appearance  of  diminishing  population.     Cer- 
tainly we  have,  of  late,  gained  numbers,  and  have  not  lost  in  variety  of 
elements  to  be  assimilated.     The  national  diversities  are  not  hostile,  and 
we  are  seeking  out  their  best,  instead  of  their  worst,  qualities.     Italian 
art  and  French  accomphshment  we  can  appreciate    without   forgetting 
that  we  are  Americans.      We  are  discerning  in  our  New  York  Germany 
something  better  than  Lager  Beer  and  Sunday  Concerts,  and  learning  to 
appeal  to  the  sterling  sense  and  indomitable  love  of  liberty  of  the  coun- 
trymen of  Luther  and  Gutenberg.     The  Irish  among  us,  who  make  this 
the  second  if  not  the  first  Irish  city  of  the  world,  and  who  contribute  so 
largely  to  our  ignorant  and  criminal  returns,  we  are  studjang  anew,  and 
discerning  their  great  service  to  industry  and  their  great  capacity  for 
organization.     We  find  among  them  good  specimens  of  the  blood  of  the 
Clintons  and  the  Emmets,  and  are  bound  to  acknowledge  that  in  purity. 


250 

their  wives  and  daughters  may  be  an  example  to  any  class  in  America  or 
Europe.  Old  Israel  is  with  us  too  in  force,  and  some  thirty  synagogues 
of  Jews  manifest  the  power  of  the  oldest  organized  religion,  and  the 
example  of  a  people  that  cares  wholly  for  its  own  sick  and  poor  ;  willing 
to  meet  Christians  as  friends  and  citizens,  and  learn  our  religion  more 
from  its  own  gospel  of  love,  than  from  its  old  conclaves  of  persecution. 
We  often  see  other  types  of  the  Oriental  mind  in  our  streets  and  houses, 
and  it  will  be  well  for  us  when  Asia  is  here  represented  by  able  specimens 
of  her  mystical  piety,  and  we  learn  of  her  something  of  the  secret  of  her 
repose  in  God,  and  give  her  in  return  something  of  our  art  of  bringing 
the  will  of  God  to  bear  upon  this  stubborn  earth,  instead  of  losing  sight 
of  the  earth  in  dreams  of  pantheistic  absorption.  In  many  ways  the  vari- 
ous elements  are  combining  to  shape  our  ideas  and  society,  and  fill  out 
the  measure  of  our  practical  education. 

Yet,  probably,  the  most  important  assimilation,  as  already  hinted,  is 
that  which  is  going  on  here  between  the  various  elements  of  our  Ameri- 
can life  in  this  mother-city  which  is  destined,  aparently,  to  be  to  America 
what  Rome  was  to  the  tribes  that  thronged  to  its  gates.  What  has  been 
taking  place  in  England  is  taking  place  here,  and  the  Independents  and 
Churchmen  are  coming  together  here  as  in  England  since  the  Revolu- 
tion of  1688,  when  extremes  were  greatly  reduced,  and  the  independency 
of  Milton  and  Cromwell  began  to  reappear  in  combination  with  the  church 
ways  of  Clarendon  and  Jeremy  Taylor.  The  most  significant  part  of  the 
process  is  the  union  here  of  Puritan  individualism  and  its  intuitive  think- 
ing and  bold  ideas,  with  New  York  institutionalism,  and  its  organizing 
method  and  objective  mind.  The  Yankee  is  here,  and  means  to  stay, 
and  is  apparently  greatly  pleased  with  the  position  and  reception,  and 
enjoys  the  fixed  order  and  established  paths  of  his  Knickerbocker  hosts. 
It  is  remarkable  that  whilst  New  England  numbered  only  some  20,000, 
or  19,517  of  her  people  here,  which  is  7,000  less  than  the  nations  of  Old 
England  in  the  city,  by  the  census  of  1860,  they  are  so  well  received  and 
effective,  and  fill  so  many  and  important  places  in  business  and  the  pro- 
fessions. By  the  census  of  1865,  New  York  City  has  17,856  natives  of 
New  England,  and  19,699  natives  of  Old  England ;  a  balance  of  1,843 
in  favor  of  Old  England.  Yet,  in  the  State  at  large,  the  result  is  different, 
for  the  population'  numbers  166,038  natives  of  New  England,  and  95,666 
natives  of  Old  England  ;  a  balance  of  70,372  in  favor  of  New  England. 
It  is  curious  to  note  that  the  city  had  only  825  native  Dutch  in  1865,  and 
the  State  4,254.  In  a  philosophical  point  of  view,  it  is  memorable  that 
the  Puritan  mind  is  now  largely  in  power,  even  in  our  church  estabUsh- 
ments  that  so  depart  from  New  England  independency,  and  the  leading 
Presbyterian  and  Episcopal  preachers  and  scholars  are  largely  from  the 
Puritan  ranks.  Our  best  informed  scholar  in  the  philosophy  of  religion, 
who  holds  the  chair  of  theological  instruction   in  the  Presbyterian  Semi- 


251 

nary,  is  a  New  England  Congregationalist,  transplanted  to  New  York. 
Nay,  even  the  leading,  or  at  least  the  most  conspicuous,  Roman  Catholic 
theologian  of  New  York,  is  the  son  of  a  Connecticut  Congregationalist 
minister,  and  carries  the  lineal  blood  and  mental  habit  of  his  ancestor, 
Jonathan  "Edwards,  into  the  illustration  and  defense  of  the  Roman  creed. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  our  most  philosophical  historian  is  the  son  of  a 
Massachusetts  Congregational  minister,  and  a  lover  of  the  old  scholastic 
thinking,  and  a  champion  of  the  ideal  school  of  Edwards  and  Channing 
in  its  faith  and  independency  ;  author,  too,  of  perhaps  the  most  bold  and 
characteristic  word  of  America  to  Europe,  the  oration  of  February  22? 
1866,  that  was  the  answer  of  our  new  world  to  British  Toryism,  and 
Romish  Obscurantism,  whether  to  the  Premier's  mock  neutral  manifesto, 
or  the  Pope's  Encyclical  Letter. 

*  *  It  is  the  province  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society  to  keep 
up  the  connection  of  the  New  York  of  the  past  with  the  New  York  of 
to-day,  and  zealously  to  guard  and  interpret  all  the  historical  materials 
that  preserve  the  continuity  of  our  public  life.  It  is  to  be  lamented  that 
so  little  remains  around  us  to  keep  alive  the  memory  of  the  ancient  time  ; 
and  everything  almost  that  we  see  is  the  work  of  the  new  days.  Sad  it 
is  that  all  the  old  neighborhoods  are  broken  up,  and  the  old  houses  and 
churches  are  mostly  swept  away  by  our  new  prosperity.  But  how  impres- 
sive are  our  few  landmarks  ?  We  all  could  join  in  the  Centennial  Jubilee 
of  St.  Paul's,  and  wish  well  to  its  opening  future.  So,  too,  we  can  greet 
our  neighbors  of  the  John  Street  Church  in  their  Centennial,  and  thank 
God  for  the  one  hundred  years  of  New  York  Methodism.  Who  of  us  can 
pass  without  reflection  by  the  old  Middle  Dutch  Church,  now  our  Post 
Office,  in  Nassau  street,  and  without  recalling  the  years  and  events  that 
have  passed  since  1729,  when  it  was  opened  for  worship  in  the  Dutch 
tongue  ?  In  March,  1764,  the  preaching  there  was,  for  the  first  time,  in 
English,  and  in  August,  1844,  Dr.  De  Witt  gave  an  outHne  of  its  history 
and  pronounced  the  benediction  in  Dutch ;  and  that  old  shrine  of  the 
Knickerbockers  is  now  the  busy  brain  of  the  nation  and  the  world,  and 
receives  and  transmits  some  forty  tons  of  thought  a  day.  What  would 
one  of  those  old  Rip  Van  Winkles  of  1729  have  thought,  if  he  could  have 
prolonged  his  Sunday  afternoon  nap  in  one  of  those  ancient  pews  till 
now,  and  awoke  to  watch  the  day's  mail,  with  news  by  the  last  steamers 
and  the  Atlantic  cable  for  all  parts  of  the  great  continent  ?  Our  Broad- 
way, ever  changing,  and  yet  the  same  old  road  is  perhaps  our  great 
historical  monument,  and  the  historical  street  of  America  by  eminence. 
All  the  men  of  our  history  have  walked  there,  and  all  nations  and  tribes 
have  trodden  its  stones  and  dust.  In  our  day  what  have  we  seen  there, 
what  processions,  armies,  pageants '?  What  work  would  be  more  an 
American  as  well  as  New  York  history,  than  Broadway,  described  and 
illustrated  with  text  and  portraits,  from  the  times  when  Stuy  vesant  aston- 


262 

ished  the  Dutch  with  his  dignity  to  the  years  that  have  brought  the  hearse 
of  our  murdered  President  and  the  carriage  of  his  successor  along  its 
stately  avenue  ?  Thank  heaven  for  old  Broadway,  noble  type  of  Ameri- 
can civiKzation,  from  the  Battery  to  Harlem  Eiver,  and  may  the  ways  of 
the  city  be  as  straight  as  the  lines  of  its  direction  and  as  true  to  the  march 
of  the  Providence  of  God. 

=^>  *  What  the  orator  who  ushers  in  the  twentieth  century  here,  or 
who  celebrates  your  one  hundredth  anniversary,  may  have  to  say  as  he 
reviews  the  nineteenth  century,  I  will  not  undertake  to  say.  What  we 
should  wish  and  pray  for  is  clear.  Clear  that  we  should  wish  the  new 
times  to  keep  the  wisdom  and  virtue  of  the  old  with  all  the  new  light  and 
progress ;  clear  that  after  our  trying  change  from  the  old  quarters  to  the 
new,  we  may  build  a  nobler  civilization  on  the  new  base,  and  so  see  bet- 
ter days  than  ever  before  ;  that  the  great  city  that  shall  be  here,  should 
be  not  only  made  up  of  many  men,  but  of  true  manhood,  and  be  not  only 
the  capital  of  the  world,  but  the  city  of  God  ;  its  great  park  the  central 
ground  of  noble  fellowship,  its  great  wharves  and  markets  the  seat  of 
honorable  industry  and  commerce  ;  its  pubhc  halls  the  headquarters  of 
free  and  orderly  Americans,  its  churches  the  shrines  of  the  blessed  faith 
and  love  that  join  man  with  man  and  give  open  communion  with  God 
and  heaven. 


•  .V. «? 


■*M 


4 


:i4|^i?^'^-?^^^^#"^'V'"  ^ 


